The Gardners
by Celticgirl84
Summary: What if there was no Peter Florrick, what if Alicia married Will 20 years ago and had his children. This is an AU fic based on the Gardner family Will, Alicia, Rachel, Lucy, Zach and Grace.
1. Introducing The Gardners

**This is just a little thing I have been thinking off the past few weeks. What if Alicia never married Peter, she had stayed with Will after Georgetown. **

**Before I start the story just a few things to clear up, I am not American so might get some things wrong, and also I'm dyslexic, so sometimes my spelling and Grammar are not the best.**

**Will Diane and Alicia are all named partners at Lockhart Gardner and Gardner, This is going to be all around their family, the have twin 15 year old girls Lucy and Rachel, 14 year old Zach and 12 year old Grace.**

"Alicia" called Susie, she was Alicia's assistant at Lockhart Gardner and Gardner "There is a call for you from Capstone High School"

"Thank you" Alicia called as she picked the phone up worrying at what was going to happen on the other end. Alicia and Will's 3 oldest children attended this school. After School they would usually get the bus home and a Katie, a Nanny that Will and Alicia hired 10 years ago when Alicia joined the firm as a named associate. Will and Alicia had discussed the possibility of no longer needing a nanny, but with Grace still only 12 they didn't want to leave it up to her older siblings to have to watch her every day.

"Hello, this is Alicia Gardner" Alicia said picking up the phone sitting on her desk, she placed an elbow on the desk and sat her head in her hand.

"Mrs Gardner we are calling to ask if Rachel went home this afternoon, she didn't come back to school after lunch"

"No, not that I know of," Alicia said worriedly,it wasn't like her kids to bunk off or carry on like this. Although Rachel was the most likely to be in trouble than the others.

"Is Lucy there?" Alicia asked, she hoped that her twin may have been able to shed some light on her sisters whereabouts.

"Yes, she is on Campus, she doesn't know where Rachel is, I have already asked her" the Head teacher replied.

"OK, thank you for letting me know, Ill see if I can get a hold of her" Alicia said, she was half worried that something had happened, and half angry that she was bunking off. Alicia left her office and made her way across the hall to Will's office, she could see he was sitting at his desk with a briefing in front of him, She walked into the office without knocking something they stopped doing a long time ago. When Alicia started at Stern, Lockhart and Gardner she had come on as a 3rd year associate. She had stopped practicing law when she was pregnant with the twins, and with Zach and Grace born quickly after, it wasn't until Grace was two that Alicia had picked up where she left off. By this time, Will, Joseph Stern and Diane had decided to leave the company they were at and go it alone. Money had been tight for them, but Will's father had passed away leaving him a healthy inheritance, and he used this as collateral for the law firm along with Diane and Josephs contributions. It didnt' take long for the company to take off, when Alicia went back to work, she went back to Stern, Lockhart and Gardner. It was strange, with Will being her boss, and her husband, but they soon worked things out with Diane being Alicia's boss until 5 years ago when Alicia became a partner as well and 2 years ago when she became a named partner after Joseph Stern left. Although this was much to David Lee's annoyance as he was sure he would have been voted in over Alicia.

"The School just phoned Rachel didn't turn up this afternoon" Alicia said as Will's face fell.

"Have you tried calling her?"

"Not yet, just came straight through" Alicia replied as Will already had his phone out and calling his eldest daughter, he let it ring until it went to voicemail.

"Rachel, when you get this call me straight back" he requested

"Where do you think she is?" Alicia asked worriedly

"She has probably just gone off to the mall or something" Will said trying to get Alicia to stop worrying he placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. Alicia knew he was right she was a teenager, not a little kid; she sank into Wills arms for a few moments before pushing herself free and glancing at her watch.

"I have court in half an hour; I had better go, if you hear anything from her can you let me know"

"Of course I will" he replied whilst moving back to his desk.

Will was getting worried, he still hadn't heard from Rachel, and he knew Alicia would be starting to panic, he suddenly seen Kalinda walk by and into Diane's office.

"Diane, can I borrow Kalinda for this afternoon?" Will asked

"I need her for the Herbertson trial" Diane responded, the Herbertson Trial was a big one for them just now, could be a big money maker.

"I know, its just to see if she can track Rachel's phone, she is MIA it shouldn't take long" Will replied, Diane could hear the worry in his voice

"Of course you can" Diane responded, she knew Will and Alicia would be out their mind with worry, and Diane knew that her God-daughters could be a handful and that she was probably fine, but that didn't stop them worrying.

It didn't take Kalinda long to track Rachel's phone to a house in Highland Park, that Will knew belonged to one of her friends putting his mind from worry to anger in a microsecond. He text Alicia to let her know before going in to let Diane know.

Alicia's phone vibrated in her pocked she quickly looked at it with relief washing over her body, she was going to have words with her daughter tonight.

Meanwhile, Rachel was at Abbeys house whilst her Dad was away to a conference in DC. They had a math test in the afternoon that neither wanted to go to, so they had thought an afternoon of watching MTV and eating junk food was a much better plan. Rachel was the eldest of the twins by a whole 7 minutes and she liked the world to know that she was oldest. She and Lucy were identical twins, with dark hair like there mother and brother, whilst Grace was fairer.

"Oh shit" My Dad has left me a voice-mail Rachel said to Abbey who was sitting on the couch painting her nails. Rachel listened to her voice-mail worried about what he was going to say.

"_Rachel, when you get this call me straight back" _The voice-mail repeated Wills earlier words

"He sounds pissed" Rachel informed her friends as she flopped on to the couch next to her making Abbey smudge her nail.

"Look, just phone your Dad back, and tell him you have a sore head and needed to go home, it works for me every time"

"I'll try" Rachel replied as he quickly dialed her Dads number

Will was in a meeting with Neil Gross from Chumhum when he felt his phone vibrated in his pocket, his daughters name flashed up on the display, this was one call Will wasn't about to ignore

"Excuse me, I just need to get this one it's my daughter" Will said as he lifted his phone to his ear.

"Rachel, where are you?" Will asked harshly and louder than he wanted as he wasn't quiet out of his office yet and Neil turned to hear the harshness in his voice.

"I'm at home" she lied "My head was really sore and I had to go to bed, that why I didn't hear you call"

Will knew it was a lie, but if he came out to say it, Rachel would know he traced her phone

"OK, well make sure you have a drink of water and then straight back to bed, I wont be back till later I have a meeting and your Mum is in court, and Katie is picking Gracie up and taking her so soccer then swimming"

"OK Dad, I'll just go back to sleep"

"Sleep tight sweetie" Will replied as he ended the call, he immediately called Alicia to see where she was.

"Hi Alicia, how is court going?" Will asked

"We have a recess until tomorrow, so I'm on my way back to the office"

"Are you near the house, can you go home and wait for Rachel"

"Is she on her way home?"

"I don't know, I called her and she said she had a sore head and was in bed, but she is lying".

"All right, I'll turn back and head to the house"

Will and Alicia had a lovely detached house in Evanston, it was an old Georgian Manor with 8 bedrooms, one of which was now a large office, it was close enough to Chicago with a 30 min commute to work, and close enough to the children's schools. As they went to private school a lot of their friends lived in the Evanston, Highland Park and Winnetka which were all close by.

Alicia turned the car around to head home.

"Sorry about that" Will said to Neil as he went back to their meeting "There is always some drama when you have teenage daughters, Neil responded with a laugh as they got back to work.

"Well that worked a charm" Rachel said to her friend as she flipped the channel over and poured them both another glass of coke

"What did I tell you, just learn from the master, it's a shame Lucy didn't come with us, your sister is such a goodie too shoes"

"She has always been like that, she wouldn't say boo to a goose"

"Yeah, well she needs to just chill out and relax, she takes everything so seriously" Abbey said and Rachel nodded in agreement.

It was so true whilst Rachel was the wild one who was always running around daft, and not concentrating in school when she should, Lucy was the quiet one who was more concerned with school work and loved playing her musical instruments, although the thought of doing that in front of anyone filled her with fear, she would rather be in the privacy of her own room or with her music teachers.

"That's just the way she is, I'm the wild one, and she is the calm one, when I think of all the times she has stopped me doing stupid things, I'm glad she is my twin sister"

Alicia opened the door to their house and called out for her daughter, but wasn't surprised when there was no response, she made her way up the staircase to the 3rd floor and into the room belonging to Rachel, and again she wasn't surprised that she wasn't there.

Will was in Diane's office, they were discussing Will's meeting with Will Gross that had just finished when Will's phone vibrated again.

"Your phones ringing, it's Alicia, do you want me to give you some privacy?" Diane asked

"No, it's OK" Will said as he answered the call

"She's not here" Alicia said angrily

"I'll call her again" Will said "Just stay at home"

Will hung the phone up and looked at Diane

"I just need to call Rachel" he said as he dialed his daughter's number, again it just went straight to voice-mail

"Rachel, your Mother is at the house and your not there, phone me back and tell me where you are, or get yourself home right now" he shouted down the phone before hanging up.

"Where were we?" Will asked Diane

"Why don't we finish this up another time, are you still wanting me round tonight for dinner"

"Yes, I'll go home just now, if you can come to ours for 7 pm, Grace has made a cake last night for you"

"I look forward to it" Diane replied as Will left and headed home.


	2. Introducing Lucy Gardner

Lucy Gardner was the twin sister of Rachel, they always compared themselves to the Sweet Valley High Twins with Lucy being like Elizabeth and Rachel being like Jessica, a stereotype which did match them pretty well

She had left school and was on the bus home when her little brother Zach sat next to her

"Hay, where's Rach?" he asked, usually Rachel was at the back of the bus with Abbey, and the cool girls.

"She bunked off and went to Abbey's, Mrs Murray came and asked me where she was"

"Did you tell her?"

"No, I told her I had no idea, she said she was going to phone Mum and Dad"

A smile creped up on Zach's face, there was nothing like seeing one of your siblings in trouble and he was hoping for a front row seat.

"Dad is going to be so angry" Zach replied

It was no secret that Will was the strict one, well not that Alicia wasn't but usually Will was a lot louder and angrier, Alicia didn't let small thing bother her so much and usually a verbal telling off was enough, but if the kids done something to really piss Alicia off then they would soon know about it. In most cases Will played Bad Cop, but when Alicia took that role, there was going to be fireworks. There were a few times, when they both played bad cop, it had only happened once or twice before, luckily for Lucy she had never encountered this, but Zach had when he went off out on his bike when he was 11 and hadn't bothered to tell anyone where he was. Alicia and Will had been so worried about him and even the police had been out looking for him. When he arrived back home safe and well without a clue about the chaos he had caused he had been held in a tight hug from his parents until their relief turned into fury. It was these occasions when Diane would end up being the one they would confide in. She really was their cool aunt.

"I think Mum is the one she will have to worry about, Dad's bark is worse than his bite, but when Mum is angry that's when you know when you're in trouble" Lucy replied

"I'm just sure glad its not me, after the bike incident, I never want to be in that predicament again" Zach said taking a chocolate bar out his bag

"You know Auntie Diane is coming tonight, and when she comes we always end up with a Boston Pizza takeaway, your not going to be hungry now" Lucy admonished her brother

"I'm always hungry" he replied whilst munching away

Lucy felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, she took it out and seen a text from Rachel

"Hay, when you get home can you text me and tell me how angry Mum is?"

Lucy showed the text to her brother just as the bus was pulling up to their stop a block away from their home, they jumped off and walked quickly to their house. They arrived at the driveway just as their Dads BMW pulled up in the driveway behind their mothers Audi.

"Oh no, he looks pissed" Lucy whispered to her brother who just smiled.

Tonight was going to be a very fun night for him.

**Please Review**


	3. Will and Grace

"Hay Dad" Lucy said as she leaned into him for a hug, Will put one arm around Lucy and the other onto his Son's shoulder

"So how was school?" Will asked

"It was good, you and Mum are home early" Zach stated

"Yes well, we are waiting on your sister, any idea where she is?" he asked eyeing his kids suspiciously

"Nope, no idea" Lucy said

"Are you sure, if your lying you'll be grounded" Will said

Lucy felt annoyed now, she had 2 options tell on her sister and make her sister mad, or lie to her parents and get in trouble.

"I don't know where she is Dad" Lucy lied "She did text me though and ask me to let her know if Mum was angry, so at least you know she is safe"

"OK, go give your Mum a hug and off to do your homework" Will replied as the kids ran inside. Will took his briefcase and laptop out of his car and carried them into his house.

After saying hello to their Mum, Zach and Lucy went to start their homework, before starting it, Lucy took her phone out and called her sister

"Hay, is Mum angry?" Rachel asked her sister

"Yay, and Dad's home he is so angry, he asked me to tell him where you are"

"You didn't tell him, did you?"

"No, but he said I was grounded if he found out I was lying, so you better not drop me in it"

"I won't"

"Good, and you better get home soon, Auntie Diane is coming for Dinner"

Rachel thought for a moment, Diane always calmed her parents down, she just would stay at Abbeys until 7pm when Diane was due at theirs.

"OK, text me when Auntie Diane gets here and Ill come home then"

"How are you going to get home, its not like you can walk from Highland Park?"

"Ill bet Ben to drive me"

Lucy rolled her eyes, Ben was a senior at their school and Abbeys older brother who Rachel was on love with, but more worryingly Ben also really liked Rachel, the only problem was that he was 18.

"OK, Well I better go, see you later" Lucy said as she made a start on her homework.

"Will, Gracie's soccer lesson finishes soon, why don't you take her to swimming" Alicia suggested, in between kisses from Alicia

"MMMM, OK, but if Rachel gets home phone me"

Will left, and headed to the school sports field where he let Katie off for the day, Graces face lit up when she seen her father there. All the other kids parents were in jeans and casual clothing but Will stood out in his Armani suit and proudly smiled as his daughter scored the winning goal.

"Daddy, what are you doing here" Grace shouted as she ran into his arms

"I came home early today, what do you say we give swimming a miss and go get some ice cream"

"MMMM, good, but remember Auntie Diane is coming, can we go to the Botanic Gardens instead"

Grace loved the Botanic gardens; she loved nothing more than walking with her Dad in the park. Will agreed and drove to the Botanic Gardens, he didn't even complain when Grace put her IPod on with Justine Beiber filling the car.

They got to the botanic gardens and started to walk; Grace slipped her arm through her fathers and held on tightly.

"You know Daddy, all that's missing is a dog, and then this would be perfect"

"Nice try Munchkin, we are not getting a dog" Will laughed, spending this relaxing time with his youngest daughter was a great way for him to chill out.

"Why not, Auntie Diane takes Justice to work with her" Grace argued

"Because I said so young lady, one dog running around the office is enough" Will said putting an end to the conversation

"Well, what about a cat?" She asked smiling

"Your Mother is allergic to cats, should we just through her out onto the streets" Will said

"No, oh well, still I like it when you come home early" Grace replied tightening her grip around her fathers arm as they stopped at a bench next to a pond with giant carp.

"Well we should probably head home, have you still got to finish off Auntie Diane's cake"

"Yes, I need to put more sprinkles on it" Grace replied as they walked back to the car, arm in arm. Will was sad that the twins were growing up so fast, but Grace was still his little girl and he intended it to stay that way for as long as possible

**Please Review**


	4. To Join or not to Join

**Thanks for the reviews. I know that in the TV show Grace and Zach are Peters, and I don't believe that they are Wills in the show, but for the purpose of this fic, they are Will's Children. Peter may appear in the story, but he will not be related in anyway to Alicia, Zach or Grace.**

Lucy finished her homework and head downstairs to the dining room, her mum had papers all over the dining room table, reading a briefing for a case she had given an 2nd year associate, there were just a few things she wanted to check.

Lucy sat across from her Mum and sighed

"What's wrong darling"

"Mr Peterson wants me to join the orchestra, I'm finding it really hard to say No, it's like he is forcing me"

"Well, let's make a list, your reasons for joining, and your reasons against it"

"That's a good idea, It would be good for college, and I'd get to practice more, and ….." Lucy said thinking of more reasons for joining.

"And what about against?" Alicia asked

"I don't like the attention on me" Lucy replied honestly

"Well sweetie, maybe joining would be good for you, might help bring you out of your shell. Why don't you have a practice tonight, you can play something for us and Auntie Diane"

"But what if I make a mistake?"

"It doesn't matter sweetie, we all make mistakes its how you recover for them that's important"

"But Mum, people will laugh at me"

"No they won't, besides you don't think Dad, or Aunt Diane or I will laugh do you"

"No, I guess not"

Alicia placed her hand on top of her daughters "Of course we wouldn't laugh darling, your wonderful so just relax, and you never know you might make some new friends if you join the orchestra"

Will and Grace walked through to the dining room, Grace ran through to the kitchen to finish her cake.

"Is Rachel home yet?" Will asked

"No" Alicia replied

"How did swimming go?" Alicia asked

"Emm, Well." Will started to say before Alicia cut him off

"You didn't take her, where did you go instead for Ice Cream?"

"No, we just went a walk; Lucy is your homework all done?" Will asked trying to change the subject, knowing that Alicia wouldn't be impressed that Grace missed her swimming lesson.

"Yes, I was just asking Mum if she thinks I should join the school orchestra"

Will smiled, and put his hand on his daughters shoulder, "I think that would be a wonderful idea darling" he said as he planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"I'm going to practice, Lucy ran through to the grand piano in the formal living room to practice.

"We should encourage her to join, she is far too shy" Will said

"I know, but she is just such a sensitive soul" Alicia replied

"She needs to toughen up" Will said quiet seriously; Alicia knew this was true, if she didn't want to be taken advantage of later in life.

"She will, just let her grow into who she is" Alicia said as Will planted a kiss on his wife's head and put his arms around her front pulling her into him.

"I wouldn't change who Lucy is for anything" Will whispered.

**Please Review**


	5. Ben

**This is just a little short chapter, Ill try and get another up tonight, but got work in the morning**

Rachel was still at Abbeys house, but Abbey had left to go out with her boyfriend whilst Rachel was on the couch with Ben making out, she glanced at the clock and could see it was 6:30pm.

"Ben, can you take me home?" Rachel asked

"Are you sure, I thought your parents were furious"

"They are, but I need to go home"

"No you don't, you can stay here with me tonight, our Dad is out of Town on business" Ben replied as he slipped a hand up Rachel's top, Rachel responded with a kiss.

Rachel was trying to think of what to do, if she stated out all night her parents would surely be furious. But, they were already furious; she may as well get slaughter for a sheep as a lamb

Diane arrived at the Gardner house, she would never admit it to herself, but she was secretly

jealous of what Will and Alicia had, but she was so happy to be part of their life, to her the Gardner Children were like her own Children to her, she was the twins God-Mother and loved the other 2 as if she was there's as well. Diane was always showering them with gifts, she earned a lot of money and as much as she liked the designer lifestyle she couldn't spend all that money on herself.

"Auntie Diane" Grace shouted as she threw her arms around Diane.

"Hi Sweetie" Diane said excepting Grace into her hug.

"Come and get some cake, I made it myself" Grace requested and ran off into the kitchen

Diane followed her through to the kitchen and was greeted by Will and Alicia.

"Is Rachel home yet?" Diane asked

"No, not yet" Will answered. "Lucy, can I borrow your phone?" Will asked

"Why Dad?"

"If your sister won't answer my calls, maybe she will answer yours"

Will called Rachel from Lucy's phone and wasn't surprised when she answered

"Lucy, tell mum and Dad I'll be home in the morning" Rachel said as she answered the phone.

"Rachel, it's Dad, you will be home tonight, not tomorrow, where are you and I will pick you up"

"Hi Dad" Rachel said nervously as Ben stopped kissing her neck

"So, Rachel, where are you, are you at Abbeys, Sophie's, the Mall"

"I'm at Abbeys Dad, I'll get Ben to bring me home" Rachel replied sounding deflated

"You have 30 minutes then you better be home and sitting at the Dinning table" Will demanded.

"OK Dad, bye" Rachel said as she hung up.

"Rachel will be home within half and hour" Will told Alicia and Diane. Lucy decided she didn't want to be around when her sister got home, she didn't like conflict, but Zach and Grace were hoping for front row seats for the action.

**Please Review**


	6. Someones in Trouble

Half an hour later the front door opened and Rachel came through the door, she wasn't looking forward to the conversation her parents were going to have with her tonight.

"Rachel, in the Dinning Room" Alicia called. Rachel walked in to find her Mum, Dad, Auntie Diane and her 2 youngest siblings in sitting round the table with Graces cake cut into slices in front of the with cups of tea.

"Hi" Rachel said meekly to the room.

"Zach, Grace, why don't we go through and watch a film" Diane said

"But, we want to watch Rachel get into trouble" Grace whined

"Come on, I'm sure you'll still hear it from the other room" Diane said as she ushered the 2 younger children out of the Dining room in to the family room where Lucy was already sitting watching TV.

Rachel sat down at the furthest seat at the table from her parents

"So, we are waiting for an explanation" Alicia said

"It's not really a big deal, Abbey and I just went back to her house, we watched TV and painted our nails.

"Whilst you were supposed to be in School" Will shouted

"Everyone does it Dad"

"I don't care who does it, you don't" Will said pointing at his daughter "And to lie to me when I ask you where you were, telling me you were sick. I called your school earlier, your Head Teacher wants to see you on Monday morning" he added

"OK, I'm sorry"

"Rachel, when we get calls from school telling us your not there it makes me worry, I was frantic wanting to know where you were" Alicia added a little more softly

"I didn't want you to worry Mum, Lucy knew where I was" Rachel said guiltily

"Lucy did" Will said, "I asked Lucy, she told me she had no idea" Will exclaimed as he went up and walked to the family room followed quickly by Alicia and Rachel.

"Lucy" Will said

"Yes Dad"

"You knew where your sister was, I asked you and you told me you had no idea"

"I know, but I didn't want to tell on her, she asked me not to, but I did yell you she was safe"

"Lucy, I don't like being lied to, you're grounded for the weekend"

"But, Dad"

"But nothing, I made it clear if you knew and didn't tell me that you would be grounded"

"But, Dad" Rachel pleaded, she was the one who should be in trouble not Lucy "I asked her not to tell you, it wasn't Lucy's fault, I'm the one who should be grounded"

"Don't worry Rachel, you are grounded too, but for 2 weeks" Alicia said

"And No TV, No phone calls except to the people in this room and absolutely no internet" Will added.

"Is that fair?" Alicia asked her daughters

"I guess" the twins both mumbled.

Will and Alicia both walked into the kitchen, to phone dinner whilst Diane was getting a friendship bracelet made for her by Grace

"So Lucy, first time being grounded, how does it feel?" Rachel asked her sister.

"It feels like I shouldn't be grounded, why did you tell them I knew where you were, don't ask me to lie for you again" Lucy said.

"Hay, I would cover for you" Rachel said

"Yes, but one, I wouldn't ask you to, and two if you did cover for me I wouldn't go telling mum and dad that you were and get you in trouble too"

"Sorry Lucy, it just slipped out"

"Well maybe it will just slip out that your only interested in going to Abbey's because your fancy her older brother" Lucy replied causing Diane to look up at her God-daughters

"Rachel, have you got a boyfriend?" Diane asked.

"No Aunt Diane, he is just a friend" Rachel said causing Diane to eye her suspiciously. Diane had been a lawyer for 20 years she could tell when she was being lied to.

"Are you sure sweetie, don't worry I wont tell your Parents" Diane whispered

"Well, I like him, and I think he likes me, but he isn't my boyfriend" she replied.

**Please Review, that's all for tonight **


	7. Its called Perjury

"Dad, I'm supposed to be going to a concert with Auntie Diane tomorrow" Lucy stated as she followed her parents through to the kitchen. Diane had bought tickets for the Chicago Philharmonic orchestra for herself and Lucy; they often went to concerts together as they both enjoyed Classical music

"Well, you'll have to miss it, won't you" Will replied

"But Auntie Diane has already bought the tickets"

"Can I go in her place" Grace shouted from the other room

"You won't like it Grace, its proper music, not that rubbish you listen to"

"Hay, Justin Beiber isn't rubbish" Grace yelled in defence

"You're not going Lucy, Grace, I'll ask Auntie Diane if she will take you instead" Will said as Lucy crossed her arms and thudded out of the room.

"That's not like her to be like that" Will said

"No wonder, she feels she has been treated unfairly" Alicia said in her daughters defence

"Do you think she was treated unfairly?" Will asked

"I didn't say that, I think she was caught lying and has to face the consequences, but I also think she has been in an awful situation by Rachel, what choice did she have"

"She had plenty choice, she should have told me the truth when I asked her, she chose to lie" Will said.

"Auntie Diane, Dad won't let me go to the Gershwin concert tomorrow" Lucy said in annoyance

"Well, your grounded sweetie, you didn't expect to still be allowed out"

"Grace wants to take my ticket, she won't even appreciated it"

"Well sweetie, it's better than it going to waste isn't it"

"I guess, I'm just annoyed, at Rachel for getting me into trouble"

"Come and sit next to me darling" Diane said as Lucy sat on the couch next to her. Zach has been in the room with Diane, but just ran out to take a phone call. Diane placed an arm around her God-Daughter

"Do you understand why your Mum and Dad are so angry?" Diane asked

"Because I lied to them, but I... I didn't want to, I was helping Rachel"

"Think about it this way, if your sister done something wrong and she had to go to court, and then you covered for her and lied for her, what would happen"

Lucy thought for a moment, she knew it would be bad, there was a word for it, but she couldn't remember what it was called

"I'd be in trouble too and might end up in jail"

"That's right, it's called perjuring yourself, and you could go to jail, so when you lied to cover up for Rachel, it's still wrong and can get you in a whole lot of trouble, do you understand?" Diane asked

"I do, and I'm sorry I will miss our concert"

"I know sweetie, but I promise you, we will go to another concert, on another day and you will just need to miss this one and learn a lesson" Diane said kissing Lucy's forehead.

"OK, I love you Auntie Diane" Lucy said as she returned a kiss to her Aunts cheek.

**Please Review**


	8. Can I borrow your phone

**Thank you for your Reviews, I promise I will get to Will and Alicia, there is a little bit them in this chapter.**

Alicia walked into the living room to find Lucy cuddling Diane

"Sweetie its time to get ready for bed" Alicia said to her daughter glancing at the clock, Grace and Zach were already upstairs in bed, and Rachel was upstairs with Will no doubt getting another lecture.

"Ok, Good Night Mum, good night Auntie Diane" she said kissing them both on the cheek before going upstairs.

"I'll come round tomorrow at 12, pick up Grace for the concert"

"She is really excited about it, Will has told her that it's a really grown up concert and she needs to behave"

Diane laughed, she really didn't think Grace would enjoy this type of music, but she loved to be treated like a grown up.

"I'm going to head home, get out of yours and Wills hair" Diane said standing up

"So much for working tonight" Alicia said looking at the briefings sitting on the coffee table

"We all need a night off now and then" Diane said

After Diane left, Alicia went upstairs, first into Graces room to find the 12 year old already asleep. Next was Zach's room, Alicia walked in to find him on his laptop playing some sort of game?

"Time for lights out Zach" Alicia said sitting on the bed next to him

"OK Mum, Ill just shut down" Zach said as he put his laptop on his desk

"Everything OK, with School?" Alicia asked him

"Yeah Mum, everything is fine"

"Why do you ask?" Zach asked

"I'm just interested" Alicia said as she kissed his hear

"Good Night son" Alicia said as she closed the door.

After checking on Lucy, Alicia went into Rachel's room to find Will sitting at Rachel's desk with Rachel on the bed across from him.

"So, are we clear" Will said and Rachel nodded contritely, Alicia glanced at her watch Will and Rachel had been up here for about an hour.

"Mum, I'm sorry I worried you" Rachel said, no doubt she was put up to this by Will

"Just promise me it won't happen again" Alicia said and Rachel nodded.

Will and Alicia left Rachel's room and head downstairs to their own. The two oldest girls have rooms on the third floor with a bathroom between them. Will and Alicia's room was on the 2nd floor next to the 2 youngsters rooms.

Alicia kicked her heels off and sat on the bed, she was soon joined by Will who pushed her back so she was lying on the bed, and they started to kiss.

"I've been dying to do that all day" Will whispered seductively as Alicia let out a soft moan.

"Well don't stop" Alicia said as they were soon under the covers.

"Lucy are you sleeping" Rachel whispered from the door that connects both their rooms to their bathroom

"No"

"Great, can I borrow your phone" Rachel said as she snuck into her sister's bed

"Why, what's wrong with your own"

"Dad confiscated it"

"No, you can't borrow it"

"What…" Rachel said in disbelief, Lucy never said no to her, she would usually do anything she asked

"But..." Rachel began

"No, you already got me in trouble once today"

"I promise I won't get you in trouble again" Rachel said

"Well who do you want to phone?"

"I need to speak to Ben; he wants me to sneak out with him tonight"

"You are crazy, just don't tell me anymore I won't lie for you anymore, my phone is on my desk, I'm not giving you it, if Mum and Dad find out that you have taken it, then you did it without my permission"

"Got it, Good Night" Rachel said as she ran off back to her own room.

"Alicia"

"Hmmm"

"I've been thinking, we haven't been away just the 2 of us for a while"

"No, your right it's been a while" Alicia said as she moved closer to Will in their bed.

"Why don't we book some time off, go away somewhere"

"What about the firm, there is so much change going on just now"

"Well, with LGG opening up in D.C, I thought maybe we could go to the Lawyers Conference there the week after next, we could maybe play hooky for a day of it and have a work free, kid free day"

Alicia loved the sound of that; it would be so nice just to have some time away from the kids

"Would your Mother come and stay with the kids?" Will asked

"I'll ask her" Alicia said as she and Will started to kiss again, it was time for round 2.

**Ohhh, Whats Rachel going to do?**


	9. Sneaking out

"Mum, there's a noise outside my room" Grace said as she walked into her parents room.

"Oh honey, its probably just next doors cat" Alicia said not wanting to get out of bed

"No, it was a car parking, and someone is out there, I think someone was in my Room" Grace said teary.

Will immediately got out of bed and ran into his daughter's room. He glanced out of the window to see his daughter jump off of the trellis below Graces window and into the passenger seat of a black car and the car drive off with the engine revving loudly. He was sure it was Rachel, but with the dark light he couldn't be sure it wasn't Lucy. As much as sneaking out wasn't usually Rachel's MO, it definitely wasn't Lucy's.

"What was it?" Alicia asked

"One of the twins climbing out of Graces window and into a Black SUV"

"What, are you sure?" Alicia asked as she followed Will upstairs to their older girl's rooms"

Grace however ran straight to her brother's room, he would want to be awake for this.

Alicia went into Lucy's room whilst Will went into Rachel's to check.

"She is sound asleep" Alicia said to Will quietly

"Rachel isn't there" Will said louder and angrier than he wanted

"Shh, Lucy is asleep" Alicia said pointing to the room door

"Lets wake her up, she might know where Rachel has gone" Will said as he went into Lucy's room and woke her up.

"Is something wrong?" Lucy asked

"Do you know where your sister is?" Will asked

"She came into my room, she was in my bed, but I fell asleep, she wanted to use my phone, but I said no, is she not in her room"

"No she went out, do you know where she is?" Will asked again

"I already said I don't know where she is" Lucy replied

"Sweetie, do you know anyone she would go away with, your Dad seen her go away in a black SUV?" Alicia asked more gently

"Ben has a black SUV, she has a crush on him" Lucy replied

"Who is Ben?" Will asked

"He is Abbeys brother; he is a senior at our school.

"Will, can you track Rachel's phone again, like you did today?" Alicia asked

"Wait, you knew where Rachel was, but you still asked me. Were you trying to set me up?" Lucy asked angrily

Will raised an eyebrow at Lucy as a warning.

"I can't believe you would try and spy on us, that is totally unfair" Lucy went on

"Sweetie, it's not something we do all the time, but we were worried about where Rachel was" Alicia replied trying to calm her daughter.

"But why ask me, when you knew where she was?"

"Lucy, I didn't know where your sister was then, I knew that she had gone to Abbeys house, but didn't know that she was still there. Alicia, I can't trace her phone because I didn't do it, Kalinda did, and Rachel's phone is in my desk drawer"

"Wait, she is out there without a phone?" Alicia asked worriedly, what if something happened and she needed someone.

"I think she took mines" Lucy replied quietly "It was on my desk and now it isn't" she added.

Will went outside to the hall and picked up the house phone and dialled Lucy number, the phone rang twice before Rachel pressed the ignore button and Ben kept driving.

"Where are we going?" Rachel asked Ben who was driving very fast on the express way.

"Where do you want to go Babe, the night is ours"

Rachel smiled and had a quick think "I'd love to go clubbing, but there is no way I would get in"

"You would with this" Ben said as he pulled a fake ID out of his pocket. "Its one of my mates older sisters, I have one too"

"Cool" Rachel said as she looked at the picture on the front, the girl was called Cara and had long dark hair like herself.

"In the dark, no one will notice that isn't you on the front" Ben stated.

Rachel smiled and sank back into the seat of the car. She was excited for what was going to happen, but also a little nervous, the age limit was 21 for a reason and at just 15 she was worried something bad might happen.


	10. The Sounds Bar

They reached their destination, an underground car park in the centre of the City. Ben drove straight into and empty space and put the car into park.

"Are you ready for some fun" he said leaning over to kiss the beautiful girl in the passenger seat. Rachel returned the kiss which was growing in passion. Suddenly Ben stopped.

"Right, lets go, you got your ID?" he asked

"Yep, in my wallet" Rachel replied as she flicked the phone opened to find a couple more missed calls from her father.

"Everything OK?" Ben asked

"My Dad has been phoning, he knows I'm not in the house, I'm going to be in so much trouble"

"Well" Ben said placing a hand on Rachel's shoulder "Just means you will need to enjoy tonight as much as you can, its going to be wild" he added.

Rachel smiled and walked with him to the doors of "The Sound Bar" they got easily by the bouncers who barley glanced at the ID's

"What do you want to drink?" Ben asked

"A diet Coke please" Rachel replied

"Come on, live a little" Ben replied

"OK, A fat coke then" she joked

Ben laughed and went up the Bar, it was early yet the club was still quiet and he was quickly served, a coke, a bottle of bud and 2 jagerbombs. Ben handed the coke and a jagerbomb to Rachel; she took a sip of the jagerbomb and screwed up her face.

"That's not how you do it" Ben said, "Watch like this" he added as he took the drink and swallowed it in one go. Rachel picked up her drink, put it to her mouth and swallowed, she felt the burn as it went down her throat,

"That was great" Rachel said as she started to drink her coke, she had only ever had a sip of her parents wine when they weren't looking before, but that tasted lovely, and quickly gave her a buzz, she only had a couple, but was already starting to feel the effects. Ben had drank much more and by now was in no state to drive them the 30 min drive home,

Kalinda was going out for the night she was meeting an old friend Jack, they were good friends and sometimes more than friends, but she was never in a relationship with him, they just liked to have fun.

They had decided to go to "The Sounds Bar", it was a great place and no one from her work would be there, it's not the sort of place where lawyers liked to hang out. She walked into the club and over to the bar when her eyes were drawn to a child. She definitely shouldn't be here, Kalinda though.

She had a look around for Jack, but couldn't see him yet, her eyes however were drawn to the girl she seen a few moments ago, she recognised her, but in the dark light she couldn't make her out. So headed to the bar and ordered a couple of tequila shots.

Will and Alicia were sitting on the sofa in the living room; Grace and Zach were back in bed and sound asleep or at least pretending to be. Lucy was in her room, she was annoyed at herself for arguing with her Dad, she wouldn't normally do that, and although she knew Rachel was the one who was going to be in real trouble she just couldn't sleep. She was worried about Rachel, and felt the urge to apologise to her Dad.

Lucy left her room and went downstairs; she could hear her parent's voices coming from the living room.

"Hi" she said quietly from the doorway

"Hay, what are you doing up?" Alicia asked as she moved over to create a space between her and Will

"I can't sleep"

"Do you want some hot chocolate?" Will asked

"Yes please" Lucy asked as Alicia got up to head into the kitchen "I'll get it" she said.

"Dad, I'm sorry I got angry and shouted at you earlier"

"It's OK darling, I do understand why you were annoyed"

"I'm scared; I don't like not knowing where Rachel is?" Lucy said

"I know sweetie, your mum and I are worried too, but there is nothing you can do, so why don't you drink your hot chocolate and then head up to bed, it's getting late." Will said as Alicia came in with 3 cups of hot chocolate and some cookies.

The 3 of them drank their hot chocolate, before Lucy went back up to bed.


	11. Kalinda saves the day

"I want to go home" Rachel said to Ben, she was getting really tired; her head was starting to buzz. She had only had a couple of drinks, not enough to get her really drunk, but she wasn't used to this feeling, and was getting a little scared

"Already, it's early still" Ben replied.

Rachel could see a woman with a man on the other side of the room, the lady kept looking over at her, and Rachel knew her face from somewhere, but couldn't place her.

"Yes, can we just go please?"

"OK, lets go" Ben said as he put his hand on Rachel's arm and guided her out of the club.

…

Kalinda knew who she was now, the girl had turned round and as soon as she seen her face she knew who she was. She was one of Alicia and Will's kids. She had only been working at LGG for a couple of years and had met the kids a few times before, but had never spoken to them.

Kalinda noticed the boy who looked a lot older guide her out, she didn't like what she was seeing

"Excuse me Jack" Kalinda said as she followed them out of the club to the underground car park and towards the car

"I don't think that's a good idea" Kalinda shouted over

Rachel spun round; it was the woman from the club

"Who are you and why are you staring at me?" Rachel asked

"I work with your parents, your one of Will and Alicia's kids"

"Oh, well, my Dad always told me not to talk to strangers" Rachel quipped

"I'm sure your Father also told you not to go into cars with drunk men" Kalinda responded

Rachel looked at Kalinda with a glare as Ben opened his car door

"Are you coming or not babe?" he asked, before Rachel could answer Kalinda had pulled her away from the car "she's not".

Ben's tyres screeched as he drove away, Kalinda quickly got her phone out and text a friend in the police to let her know about Ben driving under the influence.

"What am I meant to do now?" Lucy asked looking at Kalinda

"I'll phone your parents to come and get you" Kalinda responded, in much disgust to Rachel

"No, wait, you can't, my Dad, he…. Well, he is annoyed at me"

Kalinda didn't doubt that Will would be annoyed, or Alicia for that matter.

"Well, I can't just leave you here, and I can't drive, I have been drinking" Kalinda stated

"I can get a cab" Rachel replied

"No way, I'm not leaving you with a stranger, either I call your Mum or your Dad. Or can you think of anyone better?"

Rachel thought for a moment and glanced at her watch it was just by 1am, if she couldn't call her Mum or Dad there was someone else. She took Lucy's phone out and rang a number hoping for a reply.

….


	12. Dorkestra

Diane had just went to bed, after leaving Alicia and Will's house she had went straight home and caught up on some work. It was true that the partners were all very wealthy, but they worked hard for it.

She was just dozing off into a nice sleep when she heard the familiar sound of her phone vibrating. She was really hoping it wasn't someone calling her into work. The partners took it in turn to be on standby for anything that happened out of hours. Friday night was her responsibility; Will was taking over at 8am on Saturday and David Lee's on Sunday.

She lifted the phone off her bedside table, and had to have a double look at the name on the display. It was Lucy, why would Lucy be calling at this time.

"Lucy, are you OK" Diane asked with concern

"It's Rachel, Auntie Diane can you come and get me please"

"Get you, from where?" Diane asked whilst getting out of bed and putting some clothes on.

"I'm in an underground car park in West Ontario Street, can you please come and get me"

"What are you doing there?" Diane asked, to the sound of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Never mind, I'm on my way, will be there in 20 minutes" Diane said as she hung up.

…

"You called Diane?" Kalinda said

"Yes, Ill see if she will let me stay with her tonight"

"You want to stay with Diane?" Kalinda asked in confusion. Of course she knows Will, Alicia and Diane in a work environment, but she never thought Diane would be a person a child would confide in.

….

Diane got into her car and immediately called Will's cell phone from the car.

"Will, Rachel just called me she wants me to pick her up from the City Centre"

"Where is she?" Will asked

"In an underground car park, I'll go pick her up, are you wanting me to bring her home, or take her to mines"

"See what she has to say for herself, can you call me back when you get her"

"I will" Diane said as she drove onto the Express way.

…..

"Who was the boy?" Kalinda asked

"That's none of your business" Rachel said

"Here, have some of these" Kalinda said handing some breath mints over, she liked this girl, she reminded her of herself when she was a teenager, she had an attitude about her, but she knew what she wanted, and wasn't afraid of a bit of trouble.

Rachel took the mints from Kalinda

"Thanks" Rachel said wondering why Kalinda was still here and why she was giving her mints

"It's to take the smell of alcohol away" Kalinda said answering the unasked question.

"You won't tell Aunt Diane I was drinking will you"

"Tell my why I shouldn't?" Kalinda said replying with the same attitude that Rachel had been showing Kalinda.

Rachel sighed "I know I've been a cow, but please don't tell them, I'm in so much trouble already" she said with the same puppy dog eyes she flashed at her parents when she wanted something.

Kalinda thought for a moment, this kid was good,

"OK, I won't tell" Kalinda said as her phone chimed to let her know she had a text. It was Jack her friend wondering where she was. Kalinda replied saying she would be back soon.

…..

"Diane's gone to pick Rachel up" Will said to Alicia who was making another cup of tea

"Where is she?"

"In the City somewhere, Diane is going to call when she has got her, and then we can decided if she stays with Diane for the night or comes home"

"OK" Alicia said as she stood up and enveloped herself into Wills arms

"Why is she doing this Will?"

"She is testing us, didn't you ever play up, do things your parents wishes"

"Have you met my Mother?" Alicia said laughing, Will joined in laughing, Alicia was right, Veronica was hardly a disciplinarian, he knew when Alicia was growing up she was more like the parent.

"Well, we know where Rachel got it from; she is definitely her Grandmothers Granddaughter." Will replied.

"I'm going to check on the kids" Alicia said as she ascended the stairs. First was Grace's room, she was fast asleep crouched into a ball in the centre of the bed. With the covers pulled tight over her.

Zach was next, he was the opposite, sprawled out on top of the bed. Alicia took a blanket from the hall cupboard and spread it over her only son.

Alicia walked upstairs to Lucy's room; from outside she could see the light shining through the sides of the door.

"Lucy, what are you doing still up?" Alicia asked as she walked over to the window seat Lucy was sitting on and sat behind her.

"Just thinking"

"Well it's late, why don't you leave the thinking till tomorrow"

"Mum, do you think I'm weird?"

"No, your not weird, why would you think such a thing?"

"I'm a dork; I don't want to join the Orchestra anymore"

"But you love playing piano and your flute, and you were excited about it last night"

"Well that was last night"

"Lucy, it's been a few of hours, what has happened since then"

"Nothing" Lucy replied abruptly

"Come on, talk to me sweetie" Alicia said as she placed her hand on Lucy's shoulder. Lucy faced the window and Alicia could see the tears fall from Lucy's face in her reflection in the window.

"It's not nothing, has Rachel said something?"

"No"

"Well who then, Zach? Grace?"

"Grace said I shouldn't join Orchestra or Dorkestra as she called it"

"Oh sweetie, Grace is just a little girl, she doesn't understand, but I promise, I will talk to her tomorrow, now let's get you into bed, its 1:30am

"Night Mum" Lucy said as she climbed into bed.

**Please Review**


	13. Auntie Diane to the Rescue

Kalinda and Rachel sat on the ledge of the parking garage; they were silent, neither knowing what to say to the other when Diane's car came down into the garage. She seen Rachel and Kalinda sitting and drove over.

"So, what's going on?" Diane asked as she got out of the car. Kalinda had never seen Diane like this, she was wearing jeans and a basic tee-shirt and cardigan, not her usual high class style, not to mention she didn't even have a bit of makeup on.

"Can you take me to your house?" Rachel asked

"Go sit in the car" Diane said pointing to the car she had just parked.

"Kalinda, what is going on?" Diane asked

"I was at the club, and well she was there, with a boy, he was drunk and she was about to go off with him in his car. I stopped her going off with him, I was going to call Will and Alicia, but she didn't want me to and she called you instead"

"Was she drinking?"

Kalinda wasn't sure how to answer this, she told Rachel she wouldn't tell Diane, but she felt like she should.

"I told Rachel I would tell you she wasn't drinking"

Diane knew exactly what Kalinda meant, she had been drinking, but Kalinda couldn't tell Diane she was.

"Thanks, I'd better call Alicia and Will" Diane said she dialled Will's number.

…

"Did you get her?" Will asked as he lifted the phone

"Yes, I'll bring her home" Diane said as she ended the call and got into her car.

"Your parents are waiting for you at home" Diane said to her niece as she got into the car and locked the doors.

"Can't I stay at yours tonight?" Rachel said pleading with the same puppy dog eyes she had shown Kalinda earlier

"No, your parents are waiting for you" Diane replied with a no-nonsense tone to her voice as she reversed out of the space.

"You do know how much trouble you are in, don't you?"

"I can imagine" Rachel replied

"Well you won't need to imagine for long, and don't think for one second that I'm going to cover for you"

"I didn't ask you to" Rachel said under her voice

"I heard that young lady; your parents have been up all night worrying about who you are with, and where you were. Do you really think its fair on them?"

"And this boy, is he the one that's your friends brother"

"Yes he is, we just wanted to have some fun so we went to a club"

"And when you were in this club, were you drinking?"

"Do I look drunk?"

"That wasn't the question!" Diane stated.

"I had coke" Rachel replied whilst turning and looking out of the window

"Rachel, do you know what I have in the glove box of my car, and your parents have them too"

"What?" Rachel asked with a sigh, she wasn't really interested in what was in her Aunt Diane's car.

"Breathalysers, see we use them when we get called to a client who has been arrested for a DUI"

That got Rachel's attention, she turned to her Aunt "So, I haven't been drinking" Rachel said but not sounding as confident as she had earlier.

"Are you sure?"

"OK, so I had a couple, but it's not like I'm drunk, please don't tell my Mum and Dad" Rachel pleaded.

"I think I have to, you'll thank me when you're older" Diane stated as she pulled into the Driveway of the Gardner's home.


	14. Time to face the music

"Auntie Diane, can you please just take me back to your place?" Rachel asked expectantly, she had sunk back into her seat and folded her arms over her chest.

"No Rachel, you need to go into the house and face your parents" Diane replied, she was usually very patient with the kids, but Rachel was testing her patients.

"I don't want to" Rachel replied sullenly, at the moment she would rather a visit to the dentist than sitting and listening to the lecture she would no doubt endure from her parents.

"This isn't about what you want, right now what you want is furthest thing from anybody's mind, now unless you want to see the mean side of Auntie Diane I think you should get out of this car, and walk up to the door and go in and face your parents"

Rachel looked away from Diane and opened the car door and started to walk up the long driveway, past her parent's car and to her house.

…..

"Is that them back?" Alicia asked Will who was sitting in the front sitting room looking out the window.

"Yes, they have been talking in Diane's car for a few moments" Will replied

"We really owe Diane for this one" Alicia said pulling her robe tighter around her and drawing it in at the waist. She sat on the sofa next to Will, who tucked a loose bit of hair behind Alicia's ear

"Yes we do, Ill go pick up something to say Thank you tomorrow, I'm really hoping it's a quiet weekend, if I get an early morning call out tomorrow I have no idea how I will manage"

"You'll manage just fine; you're a strong, robust man"

"But not young anymore, I don't bounce back the same as I used to, these kids are giving me gray hair"

Alicia laughed, "You get more handsome every day" she replied and placed a kiss on his lips.

"I will never look as good as my beautiful wife" he replied.

Alicia glanced out of the window, to see Rachel and Diane walking up the path.

"That's them coming up to the house" Alicia said as she stood up and walked to the door with Will at her back.

…..

Rachel was about to place her key into the door when it opened from the other side, and there stood her angry parents. For a second everyone just stood in silence at the door.

Where the hell have you been, we have been worried sick" Will shouted at his daughter loudly after closing the house door.

"Will, shhh, the kids are asleep" Alicia reminded her husband, "Thank you for picking her up Diane, Rachel, have you got anything to say to Auntie Diane?"

"Sorry for bothering you tonight and Thank you for picking me up"

"Just don't let it happen again" Diane replied eyeing her niece

"Rachel, give me Lucy's phone and go wait in the dining room" Will said to his daughter who handed the phone to her father and walked to the dining room.

"Diane, thank you for picking her up" Alicia said repeating her daughter's earlier words.

"It's no bother, but just so you know, she has been drinking, she also almost went off in a car with a Ben, who was drunk from what I hear. If Kalinda hadn't been there I dread to think what could have happened."

"Kalinda was there?" Will asked

"Yes, she was going to call you, but Rachel called me instead. Kalinda seen her in the club and followed her out, she stopped her going off with Ben, and I also think she phoned one of her friends in the police department to get them to look out for the car" Diane said as she moved her handbag to her other shoulder.

"I'll let you get on, I'm sure you want to get back to bed" Diane said

"Thank you again" Alicia said as Diane smiled

"I'll see your in a few hours when I come to get Grace" Diane replied as she left and walked back to her car.

…..

Alicia walked into the dining room followed by Will, to find Rachel sitting at the dining room table, her head was in her hands facing the table.

"So, are you ready to explain yourself" Will said loudly

"Will, shhhh" Alicia reminded him to be quiet

"I…I…I can't explain, I don't have an excuse that you will find acceptable"

"Well of course you don't have an excuse, your behaviour was inexcusable" Alicia said.

"Just go to bed, and I mean to bed not out any windows" Will said raising an eyebrow

"What are you going to do?" Rachel asked her parents, hoping to be put out of her misery quickly.

"Your father and I will let you know, but don't be in any doubt you are in serious trouble, we will discuss it tomorrow" Alicia replied

"OK, Good Night" Rachel said as she climbed the stairs to her room. "That wasn't as bad as I thought" she whispered to herself.

...

Will and Alicia crept up the stairs quietly to bed after checking on the kids, thankfully they were all asleep, and so they should be it was now after 2am.

"So, how do you want to play this tomorrow, get her up at the crack of dawn or let her sleep?" Will asked

"I don't think I can deal with her in a few hours, just let her sleep, let them all sleep as long as they want, so long as Grace is up and ready for Diane coming" Alicia replied as she moved closer to Will and placed her head on his chest, just being close to him could keep her calm and relaxed. Will stroked Alicia's arm until she fell asleep, and he wasn't long behind.

….

"Dad, can you tell me the story about yours and mums wedding again" Grace asked her Father who was in the kitchen making pancakes.

Alicia was still asleep, as were the twins and Zach, but Grace was up early, and in the kitchen with her father.

"Oh, I suppose so" Will said as he put the last pancake onto the plate.

"It was Christmas time, just a few days before, and I got to the Church, I was so nervous, standing there waiting for your Mum. I kept looking at my watch, she was late"

"Mums never late" Grace said laughing

"Well she was that day, but it was well worth the wait, she was beautiful, her dress, her hair everything. Uncle Owen gave your Mum away that Day, you could tell she wanted your Grandpa there"

"Dad, I'm sure Grandpa was there, he would be watching from Heaven" Grace replied

Will smiled at his baby girl, although Alicia and he got married in a church sometime they felt a little hypocritical as they didn't go anymore, although Grace was now showing an interest in Church.

"So what happened next?" Grace asked before taking a bit of her pancake.

"Well we got married, and your Mum made me the happiest man in the world.

"I hope one day I can have a wedding like that" Grace responded

"Oh you will Princess, but not for a long, long time, then I will be the proudest Dad in the world walking my beautiful girl down the aisle"

Grace laughed, "Dad, you have Rachel and Lucy's before me"

"Don't remind me, it's going to cost me a fortune" Will joked as they finished their pancakes.

**Please Review**


	15. Saturday Morning with the Gardners

Alicia awoke to an empty bed, she rolled over to Will's side and gently stretched and glanced at the clock , she let out a quiet groan when she noticed how late it was and she had definitely overslept. Alicia couldn't remember the last time she slept past 10am. She got out of bed and pulled her robe on over her pyjamas and quickly checked on the kids rooms. Zach, Lucy and Rachel were still all sleeping soundly, but Graces room was empty. Alicia head back to her room and into the en suite, where she turned the shower on and stepped inside, the powerful water pouring down her back done a wonder to quickly wake her up.

Once Alicia had finished in the shower she quickly dressed in a simple dark blue wrap over dress and a pair of flat pumps, she quickly put her make up on and pulled her hair back into a pony tail before heading downstairs.

"Good Morning" Alicia said kissing her youngest daughter on the fore head and her husband on the lips.

"Ewww" Grace replied at their display of affection.

Alicia smiled and grabbed a pancake off the stack in the middle of the table.

"Mum, when is Auntie Diane coming for me?" Grace asked excitedly

"I don't know Grace, and I'm not happy with you and I don't think Auntie Diane would be either"

"Why,What did I do?" Grace asked

Alicia raised an eyebrow at her daughter

"You know fine well what you have done, what you said to your sister last night, you upset her" Alicia replied

"It was meant to be a joke, I didn't mean it" Grace replied.

Will was clueless, he had no idea what was going on and was looking from his wife to his daughter.

"Can someone tell me what is going on?" Will asked

"Grace, do you want to explain to your Father?" Alicia asked her daughter who was now sitting staring at the floor

"I told her she was a dork, but it was a joke, because she was talking about joining the Orchestra, I called it Dorkestra" Grace explained "I promise I didn't mean it" she added trying to defend her actions

Alicia took a sip of the coffee she had just made and looked from Grace to Will, after 17 years together just a look to the other was sometimes enough to understand what the other was thinking.

"Grace, you can't say things like that to Lucy, she takes things like that to heart, you're a big girl now you have to understand that everyone is different and what you can joke with some people you can't with others" Alicia answered.

"So, when Lucy wakes up, I want you to apologise to her" Will said

"OK, but you know she is just jealous that Auntie Diane is taking me to the concert, I can't help that" Grace replied

"Your not there yet Grace, so maybe you should just behave for the next couple of hours and do as your told" Will threatned.

"OK I promise Ill apologies, can I go watch TV now?" Grace asked. Will and Alicia both nodded and Grace moved off to the family room to put Wizards of Waverly Place on.

Will poured more coffee into Alicias cup and took a seat across from her at the kitchen table.

"You didn't tell me what happened with Grace and Lucy" Will stated

"I'm sorry, I forgot last night, with everything else that went on"

"Its OK don't worry about it, although do you think we should let Grace go to the concert with Diane, we stopped Lucy going for lying, isn't this just as bad.?" Will asked.

"Yes, because after seeing such a big concert I doubt she will think its Dorky anymore"

…..

Zach had now woken up, he had breakfast downstairs and was now sitting with his laptop opened in the family room on the opposite sofa from Grace, Lucy had just came out the shower and was on her way downstairs. She walked into the family room to find her two younger sibling sitting with the TV already on. She had brought her book with her, and sat next to Zach with her feet under her opening the book to start reading.

"Lucy" Grace said as the commercials started.

"Yeah" Lucy said without looking up from her book

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you a dork" Grace replied

"It's OK, I mean it's not like you were wrong" Lucy replied.

"But, you're not a dork. I just thought it was a joke, I didn't mean to make you mad at me"

"Grace, really its OK, I'm not mad at you. If anything I'm mad at me. I am such a dork. Rachel is the cool one, she's the one who has fun and I'm the boring one. I mean look at me it's the weekend, and I'm reading my English book" Lucy replied as she threw the book on the table.

"Lucy, maybe you are a dork, but just think, Mum was on debate club at school and Dad was the president of the chess club. They were dorks and now look at them" Zach said looking up from his computer.

Grace, Lucy and Zach laughed, maybe Zach was right there parents were obviously OK now, and if being a dork meant succeeding in life maybe it wasn't so bad. Although Lucy still wanted to be a bit more like Lucy. A little more carefree and wild.

….

The 3 kids got back to what they were in the living room still, Lucy had plated Graces hair and Zach was still playing on his computer

"Can one of you get the door?" Alicia shouted, but no one moved.

"Grace, get the door?" Zach asked his sister

"No, you get it, Lucy is doing my hair" Grace said

"It's OK, I got the door" Alicia said as she and Diane walked into the room.

"So, Grace, are you excited?" Diane asked her youngest niece

"Yes, I can't wait" she replied jumping up to hug her aunt now Lucy had put the hair band onto Graces hair to secure the plait.

Will was in the kitchen making coffee, and shouted through for the 2 adults to join him.

"How is Rachel?" Diane asked

"Still in bed, once you and Grace have gone, and Zach is off out with his friends to the movies, we will talk to her" Alicia said

"I actually don't think she is sleeping. I think she is just too scared to come downstairs" Will replied. Alicia nodded knowing this was probably true, but they wanted to wait till the house was emptier and they would not be interrupted before they talked about last night.


	16. Sophia

Grace ran upstairs to get ready, and Zach had gone upstairs chat online to a friend. There was a girl he liked at school and the 2 of them had been chatting a lot recently, he wasn't ready to tell anyone yet, his sisters had big mouths and he didn't think his parents were ready for him to even discuss dating. Ben was the first Boy that Rachel had really liked that her parents knew of. Zach didn't want his parents to know about Sophia yet.

Lucy was sitting in the family room, she had turned the TV off and picked up her book, "to kill a mockingbird", they had a report to write on it for Friday, and she was only half way through. Although she didn't think Rachel had even started the book yet.

Diane walked into the family room where Lucy was, Will had popped into the dining room to take a phone call and Alicia had gone upstairs to help Grace get ready.

"Hi sweetie, what are you reading?" Diane asked as she sat next to Lucy. Diane would never admit to having favourites, but she was closest to Lucy out of all the kids.

"To Kill a Mockingbird, it's for English, I haven't long started it" Lucy replied placing her book onto the table.

"That's a really good book, you will enjoy it" Diane asked, Lucy smiled in return as Diane opened her arms for Lucy to lean into a hug.

"I'm sorry you can't come with me to the concert this afternoon" Diane said

"It's OK, I understand why I can't. Did my Mum and Dad tell you I'm thinking about joining the School Orchestra, I was going to play something for you last night, but with all the Rachel drama I forgot"

"That sounds wonderful, I tell you what, you practice something and play it for me later" Diane said.

"Do you think it's a good idea?" Lucy asked

"Yes I do, I think it's a wonderful idea, you will be great sweetheart"

"I'm just worried because I'm already not cool, I don't want to make myself any weirder"

"Lucy, you're not weird, I'll tell you a secret about how to be cool"

"What is it?"

"Cool people are confident people who don't change who they are. Be confident in who you are, so long as you do what you know is right and what you enjoy then you will be cool"

Lucy smiled; she wishes she could be like that, like what Diane described

"But what if the things you enjoy aren't cool"

"Then you make it cool, for example, why don't you see if the orchestra can play some more modern, cooler music"

Lucy thought about it for a moment, and knew what Diane said made sense.

"Thanks Auntie Diane, you're the best" Lucy replied as Grace came downstairs wearing a beautiful dress and ballet pumps. She didn't have heavy makeup on, but did have a coat of pink lip-gloss on her lips.

"Can we go now Auntie Diane?" Grace asked

"Yes we can, let's go" Diane replied as she stood up.

"Enjoy the concert Grace" Lucy said, not showing a bit of jealousy towards her sister.

Grace and Diane said goodbye to Alicia and Will before heading out.

….

Zach was upstairs talking to Sophia, they had decided to go to the movies a couple of days ago, Alicia had assumed he was going with one of his friends and didn't know that his companion was actually female. He came back downstairs to the living room where Alicia, Lucy and Will were now sitting.

"I'm going out now" Zach said to his parents whilst putting his jacket on

"Do you want a ride?" Will asked

"No, its OK, I can take the train" Zach replied and quickly left the house leaving just Will, Alicia and the twins in the house.

…

Diane and Grace had arrived in Chicago; they went straight to the Hard Rock Café for lunch, just like she always did with Lucy before they went to a concert.

"Thank you for bringing me to the concert" Grace said as she took a bite of her hamburger.

"Your welcome darling" Diane replied as she took a mouthful of lettuce from her Cesar salad.

"It's a same Lucy wasn't allowed to come. Mum and Dad were so mean to her"

"She lied to your parents, no matter if she was trying to cover for her sister, it was still a lie." Diane said in Will and Alicia's defence.

"They are so strict sometimes" Grace complained

"How is school?" Diane asked changing the conversation

"It's good I think my report card comes out in a couple of weeks" Grace replied

"And you're passing all your tests and doing well?" Diane asked

"Some of them" she replied embarrassedly

"Just some of them?" Diane asked probing for more information.

"Middle school is so hard; I mean I'm good at something's, but not very good at Science or history"

"Well as long as you try your best sweetie, that's all that matters" Diane replied.

"I do, I promise"

"Good, Girl" Diane said as they finished their lunch and head to the concert.

Grace didn't know what to expect, but when they got to the concert and she heard the music she knew it was amazing, she was awed by all of it, and really hoped that one day she could come again. The concert finished, and they started to walk down the street towards the car.

…

Zach was getting of the train in Chicago and made his way to the movie complex where he met Sophia, they went into the movie, it was the latest's twilight, not the usual kind of movie that Zach liked, but with 3 sisters he was used to watching the others and new what was going on. He paid for the tickets and the drinks and popcorn like a true gentleman.

Sophiea was a beautiful girl with long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She was trendy with leggings and denim skirt and a beautiful black blouse with bright flowers on it. Her hair was straight down her back.

The movie finished and Zach and Sophiea decided to go for a walk round the city before heading to the train.

…

**I'm not too happy with this chapter, and really struggled with it, hope its OK, I'm going out tonight so not sure if I will get an update tomorrow or not, depends on how delicate my head is.**


	17. Zach has a Girlfriend

"Look Auntie Diane, its Zach and a girl" Grace shouted excitedly with her finger pointing to the other side of the road.

"ZACH, ZACH" Grace shouted loudly over to him and Diane could tell he was embarrassed, he was holding the girls hand and immediately let go of it when he seen his Aunt and Sister

"Zach what's wrong?" Sophia asked

"That's my little sister and my Aunt" he replied, "They don't know about you, not that I'm ashamed or anything, but I just haven't broached the subject yet"

"It's OK, my parents don't know about you either" Sophia replied as they walked quicker and out of his sister and aunts site.

They turned a corner, and walked to a nice park, it was a lovely spring day, the trees were blooming and the park was full of kids playing and couples walking hand and hand. To everyone on the outside Zach and Sophia just looked like another of the couples walking hand in hand. They sat together on a park bench, Zach looking into Sophia's piercing blue eyes, he moved closer to her until they were kissing. Zach never expected to kiss Sophia today, it just happened, and he was loving it.

…

Meanwhile back at home, Lucy was still reading her book although she had made her way out to the garden and was lying on one of the loungers by the swimming pool. They hadn't always had a pool when they were younger Alicia didn't want one, the kids were too young and she was worried they would fall in and drown. But last year, they had decided to get one put in for the summer, they had only used it a few times as it was emptied at winter when it was cold, but Will had filled it up a few weeks ago and Lucy was tempted to go for a swim later on after she had finished this chapter in her book.

Rachel was finally out of bed, it was now afternoon, she had tried to stay in bed for as long as possible to let her parents cool down, but when Alicia came up at 1pm to see if she was awake she knew she was going to have to face the music.

"Go for a shower sweetie, then come downstairs, we need to talk" Alicia said, and Rachel didn't disagree, she just got up and went for a shower and got dressed quickly before going downstairs.

…

"She is up and going for a shower" Alicia told Will who was sitting in his office with his laptop opened.

"Great, I'll just finish this up, Kalinda just sent through some more evidence she has dug up for the Herbetson trial" Will replied, when Alicia came behind him to have look at his laptop screen.

"What is Lucy doing?" Will asked

"She is in the garden reading, I think she is going to go for a swim later" Alicia replied.

"I still have her phone, I'll go give her it back" Will replied as he noticed both of the Twins phones in his desk drawer. He had confiscated Rachel's yesterday, and then took Lucy's off of Rachel last night when Diane brought her back.

Will left the office and went out to the back where Lucy was lying in the sun, she had put on denim shorts and her bikini to try and get a bit of sun, although it was no secret that both of the twins has skin like their mother, no matter how much sun they got they stayed the same shade of white. They joked it was their Irish skin from the Cavanaugh side of the family.

"Lucy, I took this off Rachel last night" Will said handing it to his daughter before taking a seat in the lounger next to her.

"Thanks" Lucy said sitting it on the table between them

"Are you not going to turn it on?" Will enquired

"Nah, I'm enjoying being unreachable for a while, its quiet relaxing, you should try it sometime" Lucy joked, her father was always attached to his phone as was Alicia. She knew it was work.

"So, are you OK Lucy, I know I was pretty harsh on you yesterday and I'm sorry if you felt that way" Will said

"It's OK Dad, I know why I got grounded, and I don't hate you or anything. I understand, please don't worry about it"

"It's my job to worry about you"

"Well there is no need, I'm fine. I mean I get good grades, I'm not usually any trouble and I'm happy and healthy, that's all the matters, right"

"Yes, that's all that matters, and that you are having fun. Are you having fun?"

"I guess, I mean maybe not as much fun as Rachel" Lucy joked.

"No, well we would be having a different conversation if you were having fun like Rachel, but you are having some fun aren't you."

"Yes Daddy, I am, now please stop worrying about me, you should be worrying about Rachel and whatever she does when she sneaks out, and I promise if there was ever anything wrong with me I would tell you"

"OK" Will said placing a kiss on his daughters head "I love you baby girl"

"I love you to Daddy" Lucy replied as Will went back into the house to have an entirely different conversation with his other daughter.

….

"Mum, Dad, can I just say I'm sorry about last night" Rachel said as she walked into the kitchen where her parents were.

"Are you?" Will asked, Rachel looked round in confustion as Alicia placed some toast and scrambled egg in front of her daughter.

"Yes I am" Rachel replied in confusion

"See, I'm not sure if you are sorry about what you done, or just sorry that you were caught" Will added

"Well, I know it was wrong, and I promise that I will never ever do it again" Rachel replied

"I hope you don't" Alicia said

"Do you know how worried we were, and do you ever realise how much danger you put yourself in" Will said as he stood up and walked around the kitchen table.

"I wasn't in any danger" Rachel replied

"No, so going off to a nightclub at 15 years old, drinking, and almost going off with a drunk driver is not putting yourself in danger" Will shouted

"He wasn't that drunk, he was fine to drive" Rachel replied

"No, he had been drinking, therefore he was not all right to drive, and the fact that you would drink shows how much you were lacking good judgment" Alicia said a little softer than Will.

"Look Rach, you know we aren't trying to be mean and uncool, and that we don't like having to yell at you and punish you. But, how you behaved yesterday and last night is really not acceptable" Will said

"So, am I grounded?"

"You were already grounded" Will reminded his daughter

"Rachel is Ben your boyfriend?" Alicia asked her daughter

"I don't know, I mean we aren't officially going out, we just hang out sometimes"

"Well you won't be hanging out for 6 weeks" Will said

"6 Weeks, that's not fair" Rachel complained by pouting and throwing her hands by her side and onto her hips.

"I don't think you are in a positing to try and negotiate" Alicia replied

"OK 6 weeks, and what about my phone and computer?"

"If you need your computer for school work then you can use it within our site, other than that it's off limits. No TV unless your watching it with us, and absolutely no phone calls to anyone except your father and I. Your father is going to get your phone set up to only phone us and the emergency services for the next 6 weeks" Alicia replied

Rachel groaned, the next 6 weeks were not going to be fun

"What am I meant to do after school?"

"Well we thought about that, you have 2 options, either Katie will be here in the house with you, or one of us will pick you up everyday and bring you to the office" Will said

"You want me to spend all my time in your office, its not like you are there all the time" Rachel said, this was now going to suck even more

"Between your Mother, Aunt Diane and myself there is normally at least one of us there, so don't you worry about that, Will replied.

"OK, is that it, can I go now" Rachel asked

"For now yes off you go" Will said as Rachel left and went into the garden to join her sister.


	18. Cool Auntie Diane

"It totally sucks" Rachel complained as she sat on the lounger next to her sister. Lucy had her headphones on listening to music and didn't even notice her sister had joined her out in the garden

"I said it totally sucks" Rachel shouted a little louder as she pulled the bud out of her twin's ear. Even though it was only an hour later it had turned slightly cooler. Lucy had put a blouse on over her bikini, but was still enjoying being out in the sun

"I bet it does" Lucy replied as she sat up on her lounger and crossed her legs, and turned to face her sister.

"I'm grounded for 6 weeks, and I can't even text Ben" Rachel complained as she looked upon Lucy's phone. Lucy seen her eye up the phone and could tell that a plan was formulating on her twins face.

"No, you can't borrow it" Lucy said before Rachel could even ask. Rachel's face fell, her sister was being no fun, and she needed to talk to Ben.

"I promise, it's just to tell Ben why I can't contact him. I don't want him to think I have lost interest" Rachel said.

Lucy's brow creased as she tried to think about what she could do.

"I'm not giving you my phone, but I will text Abbey and tell her your grounded and don't have your cell. She can then tell Ben." Lucy replied smiling that she had come to a solution where she could help her sister, but not do anything that could cause her parents to get mad at her.

"OK, your such a goodie, goodie" Rachel replied as she pushed her sisters arm jokingly.

"Well, at least I'm not grounded for 6 weeks" Lucy quipped with a smile across her face as she pushed Rachel's arm.

"All right, don't rub it in, but you do know that for the next 6 weeks you need to have my fun as well as your own" Rachel replied, she wished her sister wasn't so serious and would do something to lighten up.

"No thanks, I'm fine as it is" Lucy replied as she stood up, took the blouse and shorts off and dived into the pool.

"You want to join me" Lucy shouted to her sister after she surfaced, the water was cold but refreshing.

"OK, Ill be down in 5 minutes" Rachel replied as she ran up the stairs 2 at a time to put her bikini on.

…..

Zach and Sophia had walked to the train station, and were now on the train home, he hoped to get home before Grace and Diane he wanted to try and talk to them, to get them to not tell anyone about Sophia. He was sure Auntie Diane would be cool with it, but Grace had the biggest mouth imaginable, and couldn't keep anything to herself.

They sat side by side on the train and started to kiss again, this time there were a lot of passengers put off by the public display of affection, especially an elderly woman sitting across from them, who every so often would let out a disgruntle tut with a mummer of "Young people, have no respect". This caused Zach and Sophia to giggle quiet loudly which only made the old lady more disgusted. Soon they had come to their stop, and were off the train and walking home. Zach was such a gentleman and walked Sophie back to her house, before going back to his own.

…..

Zach made it home before Grace and Diane which he was grateful for, his parents were upstairs in their room, he didn't want to know what they were doing up there and thought it best to just leave it and not think about it. Lucy and Rachel were out in the pool, Zach went out to join them, he knew Grace might blab to their parents. Zach went into the family room, put the TV on and sat watching MTV, he wanted to be as close to the front door as possible when his sister got home.

…..

"I can't wait to get home, I'm going to tease Zach so much about his girlfriend" Grace told her Aunt as they got to the car, Diane wanted to laugh, but held her face straight, which she was very good at.

"Grace, I think it would be much nicer if you don't say anything to anyone, you don't want to embarrass your brother now do you"

"I know, but it will be funny"

"Just you wait a few years, until you have a boyfriend, do you think it would be funny if Zach teases you. And if you do it now to him, then he will have no reason not to do it to you in future" Diane explained to the young girl

"So, if I'm nice to Zach now, it means he will be nice to me"

"Yes, it's what's known as Karma" Diane explained. "So, when you go home, I want you to be nice to your brother, and not mention a word of what we seen"

"OK" Grace said after thinking about it for a while, there were things she wouldn't want to be teased about later when she was older.

It wasn't long until Grace and Diane were back home. Grace ran into the house looking for her sisters

"Lucy, Rachel" she cried running out into the garden to where her sisters sat by the pool.

"I had such a fun day" Grace cried out excitedly

"I knew you would" Lucy replied, although yes she was still very annoyed that she didn't get to go, she was happy that Grace got to experience it in her place.

"Lucy, can you teach me, I want to be able to play the piano like them?" Grace asked

"Well, I can't play like them, so maybe not, but I can teach you a little bit" Lucy replied to her little sister who was now sitting at the bottom of her sun lounger.

"Yes please, oh and Auntie Diane said not to tell anyone, so please don't say anything, but guess what, Zach has a girlfriend" Grace blurted out without really thinking about what she had said.

"Grace, I thought I said not to mention that to anyone?" Diane said her eyes focusing in on Grace from the doorway; Zach was standing beside her, clearly annoyed at his sister.

After Grace had run through to the garden, Diane had went into the family room where Zach was and explained that she would not tell anyone what she had seen. Of course afterwards she wanted to know all the details in a way that only an Aunt could.

"Sorry, I just can't help it." Grace said.

"Please, don't tell Mum and Dad" Zach pleaded with his sisters.

"We won't stay a word, will we" Rachel said to Lucy who agreed. Rachel hadn't looked at Diane properly, to be truthful she was more than a little embarrassed about last night.

"Where is Mum and Dad?" Grace asked

"In their room, Grace, why don't you go tell them Auntie Diane is here" Zach suggested, he certainly did not want to go up there in-case they were having sex. His friend Max had walked in on his parent once, and he had told Zach about how awkward it had been.

Grace ran upstairs to get her parents and Zach went back inside as he heard his phone from the kitchen

. Diane sat on the lounger next to Rachel and moved her sunglasses down from her head over her eyes.

"It really is a lovely day" she commented to the twins. "Lucy, can you be a darling and get me a glass of water, with ice"

"Yeah, OK, Rachel do you want one too?" Lucy asked,

"Yes please a coke, do you need a hand, I can help" Rachel said as she started to get up from the lounger.

"I'm sure Lucy can manage" Diane replied. With her sunglasses on she can watch Rachel's reactions without her knowing so. Rachel had pulled her legs up to her chest, with her arms around them holding them in place. As Diane sat up and swung her legs around to the side of the lounger so she was now facing Rachel.

"So, how did it go today with your parents?" Diane asked

"Not very well, I'm grounded for 6 weeks, Mum and Dad want me to come into your offices after school everyday, one of them, or you are going to keep me prisoner I believe"

"Oh Rachel don't be so dramatic, you knew what you were getting yourself into when you went off last night and you know you deserve everything your parents have given you"

Rachel glared at Diane who returned the look with a raised eyebrow. "And the fact that you are complaining tells you haven't learned your lesson at all"

"I thought you would be on my side"

"I am on your side, as are your parents, and when you are older you will see that."

"I'm not a kid" Rachel replied angrily, she hated people telling her she would understand when she was older, as she was old enough to understand everything.

"You may not be a little kid, but I promise your Rachel, you have got a lot of growing up left to do" Diane said before getting up and going into the kitchen to see what was keeping Lucy.

**One of the reasons I wrote this fic was I wanted to see Diane as an Aunt to the kids, particularly to the twins in future chapters, when something serious come between them. Someone once told that that "An Aunt, Can love like a mother, keep a secret like a sister, behave like a true friend, and kick your butt when you need it". I'm hoping that is how Diane is coming across in this fic. **

**And I must say apologies for this chapter, writing with a hangover was probably not my best Idea**


	19. Bens' in trouble

**Thank you for your lovely reviews, this is just a little short chapter for tonight, will try and get another up tomorrow after work.**

Rachel let out a moan as her alarm clock went off in her ear, it was louder than her phone, but since that was confiscated Alicia had looked an old alarm clock out for her daughter to use for the next few weeks. Rachel picked it up and threw it across the room, hitting it off the bedroom door. Next door, Rachel's alarm clock had also woken Lucy up. Rachel usually got up earlier than her twin, as she had a shower first and it took her an age longer to get ready with all the makeup she wore. Much to Will's disgust, he hated his daughter being made up the say she was; she certainly did not need it.

They had a nice Sunday the day before, Will and Zach had went out to a Bulls game, Alicia had spent the day in with Grace helping her with her history project and the twins had been lazing around the house.

Lucy spent much of her time reading out in the garden again, whereas Rachel had been a little huffy at how bored she was and did not take too kindly to her sister telling her to stop whinging and maybe she should read her book for her English report which she hadn't even started yet.

"Rachel, I'm going into the shower first" Lucy called through since she was now up, awake and ready to go. She was so ready to get out of the house since she hadn't been out since Friday at school.

"OK, whatever" Rachel called back and started to brush her long dark hair.

Forty five minutes later the entire Gardner Family were sitting down to breakfast, it was usually a pretty hectic affair, but one that Alicia insisted upon. Too often they got caught up in work and one of the parents or both missed dinner, and lunch the kids spent in school so breakfast was the one meal that they always spent together during the week.

"Rachel remember Mrs Murray wants to see you before homeroom" Will reminded his daughter

Rachel groaned "I know, I remembered"

"Your going to get in trouble" Grace sang to her sister whist taking a spoonful of cheerio's.

Alicia stared at Grace "That's enough" was all she had to say for the younger girl to apologise to her sister and stare fixedly at her breakfast

"I'm going to be late out of school got orchestra practice, can Katie pick me up?" Lucy asked

"No, Mum remember Katie is supposed to be taking me to Joanne's party at the ice cream parlour" Grace reminded her mother

"It's OK, I can just get a bus home Mum" Lucy agreed

"OK, but if you get the bus I want you to call me as soon as your home" Alicia instructed

"OK, I will"

"I think its time you guys get to the bus stop" Will instructed as the 4 kids rushed off to grab their bags, give their parents a kiss and run off to the bus stop.

"Will, we better get on to lots to do" Alicia said as Will started planting kisses on her cheek, down her neck and to her shoulder. Alicia moaned at his touch, but they really had to go.

"Will, we need to go" she said this time with more emphasis

"Why, we are the bosses remember, come on just 10 minutes" Will pleaded. Alicia couldn't really say no, she wanted it too after all.

"OK, 10 minutes" Alicia agreed as they ran upstairs to their room.

…..

"I'm so not prepared for this Math test; I know they are going to make me do it today?" Rachel said as she leaned against the shelter of the bus stop. Grace's bus had already been and there would be just behind it.

"Seriously Rach, you have had all weekend to prepare, a lot longer than the rest of us who had to sit it on Friday"

"I know, I have totally screwed up, but if I fail it now, can you imagine Mum and Dad. My life actually won't be worth living. Can't you help me?"

"I can help you study at recess before Math class" Lucy offered, but she had a feeling this wasn't what Rachel had in mind.

"Well, I have a different idea" Rachel said

"No, not way, I'm not doing that" Lucy said before Rachel could even say what she was going to ask

"I haven't even asked yet" Rachel said

"No, but I know your Rachel, I know what you want me to do, and I am not pretending to be you and taking the test for you" Lucy shouted

"No way, Rach you can't ask Lucy to do that" Zach said overhearing his sister's conversation "It's not fair and if Mum and Dad found out you will both be in trouble"

"No one asked you Zach" Rachel replied as the bus came. Lucy sat down on a seat next to one of the kids in her Biology class, and Rachel went up to the back and flopped onto the seat next to Abbey before giving her best friend a hug.

"So, your grounded, I got Lucy's text" Abbey stated

"Yeah, my parents totally suck"

"Well Bens had his car taken off him; Dad went mental when he got that DUI"

"What, he got a DUI, but he wasn't that drunk"

"I know that's what he said, but he got pulled over and was over the limit, Dad went mental, I think he is going to phone your Mum and Dad to represent him"

"Where is he today?" Rachel asked

"Dad has kept him off school to sort out lawyers and stuff. My Dad doesn't know you were with Ben, do your parents know he was with you"

"Yeah, they do, they seen his car when I snuck out, my Dad won't be happy" Rachel stated.

….

Alicia and Will finally made it into work, slightly later than they had anticipated, the got the lift up to the top floor and made their way to the board room to their weekly meeting with Diane. The named partners always met first thing on a Monday morning, to go through anything that has happened over the weekend.

"Nice of you to join us" Diane said with a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

"Sorry was hectic this morning, the kids were playing up" Will said

"Are you sure" Diane replied, Alicia smiled as Justice jumped on her lap.

"So, it's been a quiet weekend" Diane went on to say, "nothing really has happened, hopefully will get few more like that"

Will couldn't help but notice a familiar face outside the office.

"Alicia is that Ben and his father?" Will asked his wife

"Yes, I believe it is"

"Cary is taking this one, young man, 18 years old, got a DUI at the weekend, should be an easy case, his father is very wealthy, I believe his mother died and has left a huge inheritance, its his first offense, so hoping to get off with a warning" Diane explained, the name Ben not ringing a bell with her yet.

"Diane that is the boy that Rachel was off with on Friday night" Alicia explained

"I'm going to go out and have a word with him" Will said about to stand up until Alicia placed her hand on his arm.

"Will no, I think we should leave Cary and Diane to deal with this, it's a conflict of interest for us" Alicia explained.

"Alicia is right, leave it to us" Diane said as she left the room to go and speak to Ben and his father.

…..

**Please Review**


	20. Cheating

**Thank you for your lovely Reviews. This chapter is loosely based on an old episode of sister, sister. This was when the twins switched place to sit a test. Also, as I'm not American, I don't really know how the school system works. Is it called Middle School or Junior High when your grade 6-8, and also do you have subject teachers or just one teacher all of the time? Sorry, I just don't know this kind of stuff. Where I live we have primary school from 4/5 years old till 11/12 and High School from 11/12 till 16/18.**

Rachel had been to see the principle who had given her detention for the week, she would call her parents to le t them know. Her day wasn't going to get any better she was going to have to re-sit her Maths test. Rachel and Lucy were in different Maths classes, all be it at the same time.

"Lucy, please can you help me?" Rachel asked her sister as they sat across from each other in homeroom.

"But, if I get caught, we will both be in trouble" Lucy replied

"Please, I just don't want to make Mum and Dad anymore disappointed in me, you're the only person that can help me. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease" Rachel pleaded with her sister

"All right, I'll do it, but this is a one time offer, I won't do it again" Lucy whispered

"Thank you so much, you're the best" Rachel hugged her sister tight, finally something might go right today.

…

Alicia had just got back from court and headed back up to her office, but before she entered she glanced round to see Will wave at her to come into his office.

"How was court?" Will asked, it was just a preliminary hearing, so was only a short quick trip

"I kicked Ass as usual" Alicia replied as she kissed Wills cheek

"That's my girl" Will said returning the kiss. "The school phoned, Rach has detention all week, so I was going to go pick the twins up after Rach's detention and Lucy's Orchestra practice"

"OK, are you going to start dinner?" Alicia asked

Will groaned "I suppose so"

Alicia laughed usually Will would do anything to get out of cooking. "You go pick the girls up, and I will go home and get started on dinner"

"Thank you"

Alicia left to head to a meeting with one of her clients.

….

Lucy was dreading doing this test for Rachel, what happened if they got caught, she would never be able to face her parents, they would be so angry. They went into the bathroom at recess and switched tops. Both girls had jeans on, and similar black shoes. When they switched tops, Rachel put some make up onto Lucy, and they switched handbags.

"Rach, please don't make me do this again"

"I won't, Lucy you're a life saver for doing this"

"Yeah if we don't get caught"

"Just remember when I'm nervous I bite my nails, and if you could be me a b+ or an A- that would be great"

"Your demanding aren't you?" Lucy said nervously as they left the toilets and head to the class rooms.

Lucy sat at one of the desks, and pulled out her calculator.

"Rachel and Abbey" Mrs Wilson shouted, "Can you sit at the front please"

Lucy didn't notice her sister name being called until Mrs Wilson was right up at her desk

"Oh Sorry Miss, I was in a daydream" Lucy said with a nervous laugh

"Well I want the two of you up front, you can do Fridays test"

Lucy got up and sat at the spare desk at the front. The test was put in front of her and she quickly got started on it. It wasn't too long before she was finished, and after making sure she had put Rachel's name on it and not her own she was finished.

"That was quick Rachel" Mrs Wilson said

"I was grounded all weekend, so studied?" Lucy said she wasn't really lying; she was grounded and has studied for most of it.

Mrs Wilson seemed to accept this and Lucy got on with the rest of the class. When it was over Lucy got to the door when Zach walked by.

"Lucy, Rach is going to kill you for wearing her new top"

"Lucy" Mrs Wilson said from behind her

"No, I'm Rachel" Lucy stuttered nervously

"Really, I think a visit to the principle is in order" Mrs Wilson said who took Lucy to the principles office.

A few moments later Rachel was in the principles office as well, Mrs Murry recognised Rachel's top from what she was wearing earlier, and had thought that maybe Mrs Wilson had been confused.

"Rachel, can you open your bag for me" Lucy opened up her school bag, and the teacher took out her biology book, with her name on it.

"I just borrowed Lucy's, I couldn't find mines" Lucy said trying to give an excuse.

"Really, well I think maybe it's time to call your parents in, and you can both stay here until they get here, I don't want you switching clothes again, unless you want to tell the truth"

Lucy knew she had to tell the truth now, Rachel did too, if they called their parents in they would be even more angry, not to mention their parents can easily tell them apart.

"OK, I asked Lucy to do it, she didn't want to, she even told me I should have studied, but I begged her" Rachel said

"No, I should have said No" Lucy said, she didn't want Rachel to take all the blame.

"Well, you will both receive an F for this test, and I will need a letter signed by your parents on my desk by tomorrow. Not to mention you can spend lunch time in detention is that clear"

"Yes" the girls said in unison

"Well go and get to your next class" Mrs Murray said as the girls got up and left.

"We are so in trouble" Lucy said

"I know, at least your not already grounded for 6 weeks. I'm never going to get out the house at this rate" Rachel said as the girls went into their next class.

…..

The School day soon finished, the girls had spent lunchtime in detention and now Rachel had to go back. Lucy didn't find detention so bad, she just used the time to get her homework from her earlier classes done, but Rachel sat and stared at the clock for the 45 minutes. Now she had to do it all again, and every afternoon for the rest of the week.

Lucy was looking forward to her first Orchestra Rehearsal, she was nervous, but at the same time enjoyed her time there. She got paired with a boy she had never met before, he was gorgeous, he had dirty blonde hair, which was spiked with green eyes, and he had such broad muscular shoulders and a golden sun tan.

"Hi, I'm Mike" he said extending his hand to hers

"Lucy" she replied taking his hand to shake, but all she felt was electricity shoot up her arm.

They spent the day practicing a piece on the piano, he was amazing, and could play so well. They soon discovered that Mike had only just moved to the area from California and only lived a few blocks away from her.

"Do you want a ride home?" Mike asked when they had finished.

"I think my Dad is coming to get my sister and I, but you know what, yeah I'll take a ride, I'm going to be grounded soon enough anyway" Lucy explained to Mike about the test and her twin. He had found it totally hilarious that they had even tried it, and soon the two of them were off in his car and heading home.

**Please Review**

…..


	21. A ride with Mike

Will drove into the school car park and into the drop off zone, to find one of his daughters standing waiting for him; she had an umbrella up to protect her from the light rain shower that had just started.

Rachel opened the car door and jumped into the front seat and pulled her seat belt on.

"Hi Dad" she said as she leaned over and gave him a kiss.

"Where is Lucy?" Will asked

"I don't know, she went to Orchestra, but she didn't meet me here"

Will took his cell phone out and dialled Lucy's number.

"Hi Lucy, I'm outside the school are you ready to go home?" Will asked

"I didn't know you were coming Dad, I took the bus like I agreed with Mum this morning" Lucy stated, there was no way she could tell him a boy was driving her home.

"OK, well I will see you at home" Will said before putting the car into drive and driving off.

"So how was School sweetie?" Will asked

Rachel knew she had 2 choices, to tell her Dad the truth just now, or to wait till she got home and work out a plan with Lucy.

"OK, Dad, did you see Ben today, Abbey said he was coming into your office"

"I didn't speak to him; Your Mother decided that it would be better for Auntie Diane and one of our associates to deal with his case"

"Oh, but do you know what happened?"

"No, and even if I did, I couldn't tell you, we have something called attorney client privilege." Will explained

"Dad, I really like Ben, he isn't a bad guy, and we just wanted to have some fun"

"Rach, he is 18 years old, you have only just turned 15, and you have to understand that we worry about you"

"So, can I go out with him again, when I'm not grounded I mean"

"Let me talk to your Mother, but Rach, I don't want you dating until your 16. Can you just wait a year?"

"What difference does it make if I wait a year or not"

"Because I'm not ready yet, you have to try and give your Mum and I some time to get used to you growing up"

"Dad, I'll always be your little girl, promise" Rachel said as Will smiled at her. No matter how angry he was at Rachel, she would always be his little girl and she always made him smile.

…

"Thank you for the ride" Lucy said as she grabbed her bag from the floor.

"Can I get your number?" Mike asked as he handed his phone over to Lucy, Lucy took hers out of her back pocket and handed her over to Mike, once the numbers were in, Lucy got out of the car and walked up the driveway, Mike drove off back to his own house. Lucy was just thankful that he got there and away before her Dad arrived home.

Lucy went into the house and called her Mum from the house phone.

"Hay Mum, I'm home, I got the bus"

"Did Dad not pick you up?" Alicia asked

"No, I didn't know he was coming and got the bus. Zach is playing his computer and Grace and Katie are just home" Lucy said as her youngest sister and their nanny just came through the door.

"OK Sweetie, I'll be home soon to make Dinner and your Dad and sister shouldn't be long, why don't you go make a start on your homework" Alicia suggested. Lucy hung up and went into her room to start on her homework.

….

Will and Rachel got home, Rachel ran upstairs straight to her sisters room without saying hello to her brother or sister. She threw the door opened and flopped on the bed.

"So what are we going to do?" Rachel asked as she lay back with her feet over the edge of the bed.

"We have to tell Mum and Dad, get them to sign the letter" Lucy said sensibly as she turned round from her desk to face her sister.

"No, we should just fake sign it ourselves" Rachel suggested.

"No, look we are in enough trouble as it is, don't you think Mum and Dad will find out we got F's and then we will have some explaining to do" Lucy said, she had moved off of the desk and lay on the bed next to her twin, her legs also over the side of the edge.

"Look, lets just go talk to Dad just now, get it over with" Lucy suggested. "The quicker we do it the better"

"Please Lucy, can't we just try and lie our way out of it"

"Let me think about it until Mum gets home" Lucy said. "But at least if we are both grounded we will have each other"

"Yeah, at least we won't be alone" Rachel agreed.

"Rach, I met a boy today, I really like him, he gave me a ride home, and I didn't take a bus"

"Ohhh, you're turning into such a rebel, what's his name? Is he hot?

"His name is Mike and he is really hot, he is older, a junior he only lives like 3 blocks away. Oh Lucy he is so cute, he asked for my number" Lucy grabbed a pillow and hugged it tight. "I really like him"

"Well even more reason to not tell Mum and Dad, you don't want to be grounded when you can go on a hot date"

Lucy didn't know what came over her, but she suddenly agreed with her sister, and they quickly faked their parent's signatures on the letters and stuffed them back into their backpacks. This rebellion felt great for Lucy, for the first time in her life she felt truly alive.

**This is just a wee short extra update for tonight; don't say I'm not good to you 2 updates in one night. I won't be around tomorrow, I have parents night so working late. Night night folks.**


	22. We don't ask them, We tell them

**Sorry everyone, this is going to be a really short update. I had a little accident this morning when I was out with the horses. One threw me off, and I've had concussion and been in hospital all day**

The time soon passed, Lucy and Rachel were ecstatic that they had managed to pull one over on their parents, who so far had not found out about their switch over for the Maths test. Lucy had been going steady now with Mike for a few weeks, and even more importantly, it was Friday night, and the first night that Rachel was not grounded. She was looking forward to going out again and having some serious fun.

Rachel was in her room holding two tops up to the mirror, switching them again her body to try and decide which one to wear. The tight one, or the cropped one. "Lucy!" she shouted loudly.

"I was only next door, not at the other side of the city" Lucy said, as she sat on her sister's bed.

"You're not wearing one of those tops are you? Do you want Dad to have a heart attack?"

"Yeah, but No, I'll wear a cardigan or a sweater over it until I get out of Dad's sight" she said as she pulled both tops up again, once Lucy pointed to the tight one, she threw the cropped top to her sister. "That one is for you; Mike will love you in it"

"I don't know Rach; I mean we haven't even asked Mum and Dad if we can go to this party"

"We don't ask them, we tell them, just follow my lead" Rachel said as she put her top down and ran out of the room followed by her sister.

…..

"Dad, I'm going to go out tonight, Lucy is coming with me" Rachel said, Will was sitting in his office with papers out and his laptop opened.

"Funny, I didn't hear a question there, or a please" Will stated

"Dad, can we please go out tonight?" Lucy asked

"I need to talk to Mum when she gets home" Will said looking back at her laptop

"But, Dad, I'm not grounded, Why Can't I go out" Rachel said with her hands finding their way to her hips.

"I didn't say No, I just need to talk to Mum. It's Friday night remember Auntie Diane always comes over, and if I get anymore attitude from you, then you won't be going anywhere" Will said abruptly.

Rachel knew it was no use in continuing this conversation, she had pissed her Dad off and the best thing she could do would be to leave it.

Rachel left the room with Lily behind her

"So, is that's how it's done" Lucy said laughing at her sister who was just a few moments ago boasting about how she could manipulate her Father

"Well Mum will be home soon and then we can get out and party" Rachel said

….

**So Sorry this is so short, ill try and get a proper update tomorrow.**


	23. To kill a mocking bird

**Thanks everyone for your good wishes , I feel a wee bit better today, still got a sore head, or in Scottish "Ma Heid is Burstin". This is just another little update. I'll try and maybe get more up tonight or tomorrow.**

Diane drove straight to the Gardeners house, it was a lovely summers evening and Alicia had stopped off at the supermarket to get some food in for dinner, instead of takeaway; she decided a barbeque would be nice.

Diane arrived at the house first, where she was welcomes warmly by Grace who wanted to show Diane her new loom band kit, they were little elastic bands that the kids wove into bracelets.

"I can make you one" she said as she pulled yet another box of bands out of the drawer"

"That would be lovely" Diane said as the youngest girl started weaving away.

Zach was upstairs on his computer; he and Sophia had been talking a lot more on MSN recently and were now going steady. Zach had decided he was going to tell his parents tonight as Sophia had told hers a couple of days ago and they wanted him to come round for dinner.

It wasn't too long before Alicia got back, Will had already set up the Barbeque, and had Lucy and Rachel to help set the outside table. The girls were happy to oblige to get on the good side of their parents.

"So Lucy, this party, where is it?" Will asked as he prod the coals on the barbeque

"Emmm, well, I'm not too sure, Rachel knows" Lucy replied

Rachel came out of the kitchen with more plates for the table "It's at Laura's house, she is in our year and her Aunt is going to be there" What Rachel didn't mention was that Laura's Aunt was only 19 years old,

"And Laura's parents?" Will questioned

"They are away with her Dad's work to D.C, and her Aunt said she could have a few Friends round, it's not a big deal Dad"

"I just need to know where you are going and who you are going with" Will said as the barbeque was finally starting to heat up.

Alicia was in the kitchen chopping some veg as the girls came back into the house.

"How was school?" Alicia asked as she kissed both of the twins head

"Good Mum" Lucy replied "Oh I forgot to tell you I got an A on my to kill a mockingbird report"

"Well done darling" Will said as he came through to the kitchen before Alicia had a chance to say anything.

"How did you get on Rachel?" Alicia asked

"Em, well I didn't get an F, so that's good" Rachel replied as she shyly tried to get out of the room.

"Rachel, what did you get?" Will asked harshly staring his eyes on his daughter

"I got a C, but I promise I will try harder" Rachel said, as she tried to move as far away from her parents as she could.

Alicia's eyes drilled onto her daughter "You have never had a C before, what happened?"

"Nothing, I just didn't like the book, I promise next time I'll do better" Rachel replied

"If you don't get a B or better next time then we will see about getting you a tutor" Will replied.

"But, I don't need a tutor" Rachel complained

"Well, we will see how you get on with your next essay" Alicia relied as she carried the food out to the kitchen to put on the barbeque followed by her husband with more food.

"You had to go boasting about your A didn't you" Rachel said to her sister as she leaned against the worktop.

"Sorry, I didn't realise, but you know what, I'm not sorry, why should I not tell Mum and Dad about my A, its not my fault you only read the book the night before the report was due" Lucy was annoyed, she stormed out of the kitchen and into the living room where Diane now had 3 bracelets on her wrist.

"What's wrong Lucy?" Diane asked

"Nothing, just Rachel, I got an A on my book report and she is angry because I told Mum and Dad" Lucy flopped on the couch next to her aunt and sister

"Why did she get angry?" Diane asked

"Because she got a C, and now Mum and Dad are threatening to get her a tutor. She doesn't need a tutor, she just needs to read the bloody book" Lucy replied

"Oh-ah, I'm telling on your for swearing?" Grace shouted to her sister.

"Oh be quiet Grace" Lucy replied annoyed at her sister.

"Auntie Diane, she told me to shut up" Grace whined

"I'm not getting involved" Diane stated as she stood up and left the girls to argue amongst themselves.

**Sorry this is so short, ill try and get a proper update tomorrow. Its "The Good Wife" Night here so off to bed to watch it whilst hubby takes over the big TV for the World Cup.**


	24. Zach tells all about his Girlfriend

**Thanks guys, I'm much better now. Sorry its take me a couple of days to update been busy with the kids schools fete and sports day the past couple of days. Just had a wee half hour of quiet so wrote this.**

**I'm looking for a bit of help with American laws, what age can you get your driving permit and licence in America. Where I live its 17, but almost certain it is younger in America,**

"So you remember that your Dad and I are off to D.C on Monday for a few days" Alicia said as she spooned some salad onto her plate.

"Yes, we know" Grace replied still chewing on the food in her mouth.

"Grace, don't talk with you mouthful" Will scolded

"Mum we were thinking, we don't need to go and stay at Auntie Diane's. I mean she only has 2 spare bedrooms, Zach and Grace can go, Lucy and I will be fine here on our own" Rachel said. She was ready for the party tonight, even though she hadn't yet received permission to go.

"Nice try" Alicia laughed. "None of you are going to Auntie Diane's; she is going to stay here

"That's right, so no ideas" Diane narrowing her focus on Rachel

"What kind of ideas, you know we are grown up enough to look after ourselves" Rachel said causing the rest of the family to laugh. "Why are you laughing, and whilst we are talking, can Lucy and I go to Laura's party please"

"You can" Alicia said which caused her daughters to smile gleefully "Don't get too excited there are conditions"

"What sort of conditions?" Rachel asked in trepidation

"Well, although you're not grounded anymore Rachel, you are still not quiet off the hook, think of this as probation" Will said causing his daughter to roll her eyes in reaction. He really was such a geek she thought to herself

"Oh come on Dad, haven't I been punished enough"

"Rachel, we need to learn to trust you again, and we do that by giving you back a little bit of trust at a time, do you really think everything was just going to go back to the way it was before you were grounded" Alicia said

"Well, yeah I did, but what are the conditions?" Rachel asked

"Curfew is 9pm" Will said "And, your Mother or I will drop you off and pick you up from this party"

"Dad, you know that is totally uncool, we were just going to walk, it's not that far" Lucy replied. They weren't actually going to walk, Mike was going to drive them, but first they were going to walk to his house.

"Well, you either go to the party in an uncool fashion, or not at all" Will said leaving the choice up to his daughters

"how about, you drop us off around the corner" Lucy suggested hopefully "I mean, I have done nothing wrong and I'm uncool enough as it is, do you really want to make things harder for me" Lucy said, Rachel smiled at her sister, she was a genus, her parents would totally fall for that one.

"OK, we will drop you around the corner, and you will call me when you are ready for a ride home. Lucy curfew is 10:30pm, Rachel yours is 9pm, now go on and get ready" Will said as the 2 girls leapt from their chairs, and ran upstairs

….

"So, what are you two planning on doing tonight?" Diane asked the younger kids

"Dad promised to watch Frozen with me, he got me the DVD today" Grace said after stuffing a mouthful of burger in her mouth.

"Only if you stop talking with your mouthful" Will said

"Oops sorry" Grace replied after swallowing her food. "What about you Zach, what are you doing?"

"Well, I was wondering if I could go out, see there is a girl I like and well I was wondering if maybe we could go to the movies?" Zach asked quickly, his palms were sweaty as he wiped them on the side of his trousers.

"A girl?" Alicia questioned as a lump began to form in her throat, Zach was her only boy, and there was something to be said about the relationship between a woman and her son. Rue any female who came in-between them.

"Yes, she is in my year, her name is Sophia, I really like her"

"Good for you Son" Will said proudly as Alicia glared at him

"I don't know Zach; let me talk to your Dad?"

"But, Mum the movie starts soon" Zach complained hoping for a quick answer

"Well, you should have asked us earlier then shouldn't you, let me talk to your father first and then we will let you know, why don't you two take the plates inside and load the dishwasher, it's your turn tonight"

The two younger kids got up and head towards the kitchen leaving the adults alone.

"I'll go help Zach and Grace" Diane said as she followed the younger kids away

"So," Alicia said narrowing her eyes at her husband who by now could tell she was pissed. "It's OK for Zach to have a girlfriend, but not for Rachel to have a boyfriend?"

"Zach and another freshman yeah I'm OK with, Rachel and an 18 year old, not so much"

"Oh come on Will, if Rachel or Lucy were going out with a boy their age you wouldn't be happy, but it's OK for Zach because he is a boy"

"Alicia, please, it's not like that, look I will talk to Zach, but I think at the moment that going to a movie with a freshman his own age is harmless"

"OK, but I want you to promise me you will talk to him tomorrow about what is and isn't acceptable. He has to know that he has to treat any girls in the exact same way he would expect a boy to treat his sisters" Alicia said as she placed her hand into Wills.

"Don't worry I will talk to him, but for tonight, let him have some fun" Will kissed Alicia's head and went into the kitchen to let Zach know the good news.

…

Rachel was putting anther coat of mascara on as Lucy tightened the strap on her sandal. "I didn't know you had it in you" Rachel said to her sister "seriously all that crap about already being un-cool, Mum and Dad totally fell for it"

"Yeah they did, didn't they" Lucy replied back with a nervous laugh, her twin thought she had been lying, but no, that was how she actually felt, and she knew her parents knew it was real.

"Well it worked a treat, come here, let me put some of this new lip gloss on you, Mike will love it. It tastes of strawberries" Rachel pulled her sister over and started to plaster lip-gloss on her followed by a couple of coats of mascara. "Now we are ready let's go"


	25. Isn't it just Juice?

**Thanks, I knew It was younger for Driving in the States than here in the UK, I had a wee look online and your right the permit is 15 with lots of conditions attached to it, so will write it into the story in a few chapters**

**This chapter is slightly longer that what I usually write, hope you enjoy.**

Will, Alicia and Diane had migrated through to the kitchen, it was a big kitchen with a table at the French doors that lead onto the patio, the wood in the kitchen was dark mahogany with dark granite counter tops. This was OK because of the light that shown through from the doors and windows making it very bright. The 3 partners were sitting discussing work, something that they tried to avoid on their Friday night get together, but never the less when left on their own without the children it often happened.

Will had drove the twins off to their party, or around the corner from Mike's house. Will was shocked by how close he was taking them and had agreed to let them walk back so long as they came home together. Lucy had agreed to this, she didn't want to stay too late anyway and leaving at 9pm with Rachel would be OK. Once they were at Mike's house he drove them to where the party really was, which was Highland Park. They would have to rely on Mike driving them back to his place so they could walk home.

Zach was off out to the Movies with Sophia, Will had dropped him at the mall after dropping the twins and was now back at home.

"Dad, can we watch Frozen now" Grace shouted from the living room before running into the kitchen.

"Have you done all your homework?" Alicia asked

"Kind of" Grace replied reluctantly

"What do you mean kind of the answer is either yet or no?" Will stated as he got up and switched the kettle on for tea

"Well, I have all weekend and I can finish it them" Grace suggested

Grace had always been difficult when it came to homework, it took her an hour to do something that should have taken 10 minutes, she had been like this since elementary school. She didn't want to miss out on what else was going on and would take all night to do something very small.

"Grace, go do your homework then we will see about watching films" Alicia said

"But, why can't I do it tomorrow or Sunday, you let Zach, Lucy and Rachel do it whenever they want" Grace whines, as she placed her hands on her hips and pouted.

"Because they are in high school they get homework for different subjects, whereas you get homework that is always due in the next day. So go upstairs and do your homework now" Will said

"THIS SUCKS!" Grace shouted at her parents as she slammed the kitchen door.

"Whoa, she isn't happy" Diane stated as Will followed Grace upstairs to her room. Will opened Grace's door to find Grace throwing her school bag on her bed and pulling out her math book.

"

Young Lady I want you to go downstairs, and apologise to Auntie Diane and your Mother"

"What for, I didn't do anything wrong?"

Will sat on the bed next to Grace "You can not talk to people that way, I know you didn't like us telling you to do your homework and that is not an excuse, but if that's what we say then that's what you do"

"So I can't express how I feel?" Grace asked

"Not that way you can't, so go downstairs and apologise, then into the dining room and do your homework" Will ordered as he stood up and went downstairs with Grace behind him, she was upset, but trying her hardest not to show it as a tear fell from her eye, she quickly wiped it with her sleeve followed her Dad

…

"What has gotten into Grace?" Diane asked Alicia as the subject changed from work to the kids. They have moved from the kitchen through to the Family Room with the coffee that Will had started to make

"Hormones, remember Rachel at her age, constantly moody" Alicia replied

"Oh yes, how can I forget the door slamming that would come from Rachel's room, I think my ears are still recovering, but Grace is the baby"

"I know, I'm not ready for my sweet little girl to turn into a teenager" Alicia loved it when her kids were young, when they needed her for every small thing. She missed the hugs and the pretend play that small children enjoy. "I just miss them being little, Zach has a girlfriend, the twins are off to parties and Grace is having a teenage strop. I miss the tea parties and the dolls houses, playing with dolls and the world of make believe that went along with little children"

"You will have that again, just wait till you're a grandmother" Diane stated, she was quiet sad that she never had children, she always felt a little lonely

"Yes, well, hopefully not for at least 10 years" Alicia laughed as she was interrupted by her youngest daughter.

"Mum, Auntie Diane, I'm sorry about shouting at you all, I was just a little angry" Grace said as she sat on the sofa between the two women.

Alicia was ready to lecture , but she could tell from Graces quiet demeanour and the stain on her cheek that she had been crying and Will would likely have come down quiet hard on her already.

"All right Sweetie, just make sure it doesn't happen again" Alicia said as she placed a comforting arm around Grace and gave her a peck to the cheek.

"I'll go do my homework" Grace said as she ran off to the Dining room with her Math book.

"Will, did you need to be so hard on her?" Alicia asked

"I wasn't, I just told her to apologise and that she shouldn't talk to us like that" Will said defensively.

"I know, she is just emotional, she is like Lucy that way" Alicia replied.

…..

Rachel and Lucy made it to Laura's party, the house looked amazing, as they went inside Laura greeted them and took them into the Family Room, it was dark, but their were little fairy lights all throughout the room. "The Beer is over here" Laura said pointing to a huge ice bucket full of beer. They then were taken out to the back where some of Lucy's friends from the music department were sitting on the loungers. She felt a little more relaxed that there were some friends here, and she and Mike went to join them.

Rachel made her way back through to the living room where she immediately opened a bottle of beer and started to drink. She wasn't expecting the taste, and though it was the vilest thing she had ever tasted, but as she wanted to look cool she took another few sips. It wasn't long until she felt a pair of eyes upon her. It was Ben; he walked down the stairs, and into the room where he placed his hands upon her waist.

"So, your finally back, I've been waiting for you" he said. Although they went to the same school, she hadn't really seen him for the past few weeks, just a couple of stolen glances on their way between classes.

"Yep, I'm back" she replied putting her hands around his neck and moving her mouth to his. It wasn't long until the 2 of them were upstairs in an empty bedroom.

Lucy was having a great time, she had never felt this liberated, and free before, it was like she didn't have a care in the world. She staggered over to the punch bowl and took another cup and filled it.

"Mike, are you really not wanting a cup, it's lovely" Lucy said waving the cup below his face and giggling

"No, I need to drive you home later" Mike said as Lucy cuddled next to him on a lounger and kissed him.

"So, why can't you have punch?" Lucy asked

"Because, I don't want a DUI like Ben, you know he is in court next week" Mike said causing Lucy to sit up

"But, this is just juice, isn't it?" Lucy asked

"Em no, its juice and vodka" Mike replied, he thought Lucy knew this "Please tell me you knew that"

"No, I thought it was juice" she said loudly "Am I drunk?"

"Yeah, Lucy you are hammered" Mike replied

"My Dad is going to kill me, can you get my sister for me please"

"Yes, stay where you are" Mike said as he went looking for Rachel.

….

Zach got to the Mall and met Sophia in the lobby of the Cinema "Hi" he said as he greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

"You made it" Sophia replied. Zach had text her earlier to say that he was telling his parents, and had told her that he had to wait until his Mum said he could come.

"Yes, my Dad is totally cool about us, but my Mum was being a bit of a bitch about it"

"I know, my Dad he wants to meet you, said he is going to give you the third degree"

"Oh no, what is that meant to mean"

"Don't worry Zach, my Dad is a big softie, he is just protective of me"

"Yeah, my Dad is he same with my sisters" Zach replied as they bought tickets for their movie and head to the back row of the cinema where they spent the majority of the movie making out.

…..

"Rachel are you in here" Mike knocked on the door of a bedroom he had been told that Rachel was in. He was feeling like maybe he had chosen the wrong twin. Lucy was sweet and nice, but no fun. He honestly thought she was up for a good time tonight with drinking, and thought maybe they would have got by first base, but now he knew, she didn't mean to drink, she was scared of being in trouble and when she was sober he was lucky to get a kiss never mind anything else.

"We are a little buys Bro" Ben said as he opened the door topless with just his boxers on

"Its her sister, she is hammered and needs to go home" Mike said

"So, take her home" Ben replied as Rachel came to the door, clearly she had just put her clothes back on.

"It's OK, I need to go anyway" Rachel said glancing at her watch it was 8:45 pm, she followed Mike downstairs. "How the hell did she get drunk?" Rachel asked

"She didn't realise the punch was alcoholic" Mike said

"Oh for Goodness sake, she is so naive, I need to get her out more" Rachel replied as they made it out to the garden on find Lucy being sick in a bucket

"Lucy, look lets get home, Mike, will take us in his car" Rachel said as she and Mike helped her up. Rachel put her sister's arm over her and placed her own arm around Lucy's waist, it was then that her hand touched Mikes and the shock went through her, it was a nice, warm, tingly feeling. She had never felt it before, but she soon realised that Ben was not the boy for her. It was her sister's boyfriend she wanted, and there was no way she could let this happen. Rachel at that moment decided, she would need to stay as far away from Mike as possible.

**There is more to come here, I was going to write more, but the chapter would be way too long, so will update again either tonight or tomorrow. **

**Please Review**


	26. A ride with Mike 2

**Thanks guys for your lovely reviews, they make me happy I wrote half of this last night and half tonight, but Ill not be able to get an update tomorrow and probably not Wednesday so this will need to do for a couple of days. There is a little bit of swearing in this chapter so be warned.**

Mike and Rachel got Lucy into the car, the alcohol must be getting to work on her body as she was now feeling and acting even drunker than before. Lucy was sprawled on the back seat; with no seat belt on something her parents would be annoyed with if they ever found out, but at the moment there was no way Rachel could get it on her considering she was lying on the back seat. Rachel got into the front passenger seat of the black SUV and clipped her belt into place. Mike glanced into the rear view mirror he was praying that Lucy wasn't sick in his car again. He didn't want to risk driving to fast in case the motion made her sick, but at the same time wanted to get her home as soon as possible. He shifted the car into drive and placed his hand onto Rachel's lap.

"What are you doing?" Rachel whispered as she picked up his hand and moved it off her lap

"Don't tell me it's now what you want" he replied

"Fine, I won't tell you" Rachel replied as his hand moved back onto her knee.

"Stop it, my sister is in the back seat and she is meant to be your girlfriend so keep your hands off"

"Your sister is comatosed in the back seat"

"But she is still your girlfriend is she not"

"We never officially said we were exclusive, look I like you and I will treat you much better than that meathead Ben, he will be serving burgers for the rest of his life"

"No, who make you all high and mighty, she is my sister, and I will not hurt her so back off"

"OK, but soon enough you will be begging me, I felt the electricity earlier"

"Maybe so, but I know something the love I have for my sister will always outweigh the love I have for any guy, no matter how I feel about him" Rachel replied although that's what she wanted to believe no matter how carnal the feelings for Mike where

"OK, if that's how you feel, just don't tell me I told you so when you and I are together, because I guarantee we will be together"

"If you say so, but please just drive us home will you" Rachel replied, she wasn't impressed with Mike so far he was so full of himself.

"Rachel, I'm going to be sick" Lucy suddenly shouted, she had been asleep, but had woken up and was about to be sick when Mike pulled the car over and Rachel got her sister out to the side of the road.

…..

Zach's movie had finished and Will had just picked him up from the Mall

"So how was the movie?" Will asked

"All right, it was pretty good" Zach replied, the truth be told he couldn't remember much of it.

"And was it a good date?"

"Yeah, OK"

Will knew he was getting no where with this; it was time for some more probing questions.

"So, what movie did you see?"

"Captain Philips"

"What was it about?"

"What is this Dad, 20 questions" Zach asked as he put his headphones into his ears and ignored Will.

"Zach, take them out" Will shouted loud enough to be overheard by his music. Zach took the ear buds out of his ears and looked round at his father

"Look, tomorrow we need to talk, your Mother wants me to talk to you"

"About what" Zach said as Will raised his eyebrow "I think you know what it's about Son, you and Sophia"

"Please Dad; we don't need to do that"

"Well, either you talk to me tomorrow, or your Mother will be all over this, who would you rather talk to"

"You, I'll talk to you Dad, but please promise me, it's not going to be some cheesy Father Son crap"

"Ill do my best" Will said laughing.

The 2 of them sat in silence as they drove home, until Will suddenly saw 2 girls outside a black SUV one being sick on the ground.

…..

"Mum, can I watch frozen now, my homework is all done?" Grace asked. Alicia was sitting on the couch with Diane with a bottle of red wine between them and a glass in hand.

"Honey, its late now, you took too long to do your homework"

"But, please, it's so not fair. Zach got to go to the moves, Rachel and Lucy got to go to a party and I got left, stuck at home doing homework, please can I just watch my film with you"

Diane loved Grace so much but tonight she really didn't want to watch a Disney movie.

"I'll tell you what, how about when your Mum and Dad are away you and I watch Frozen. We will get popcorn and Ice Cream and have a really good night" Diane said

"Even on a School Night"

"Yes, but you have to promise me that you will do all your homework on Monday before Dinner, is that a deal?" Diane extended her hand to the young girl.

"Deal" Grace replied shaking her Aunts hand.

"Good, now why don't you go and get ready for bed before your Dad is home" Diane suggested, Grace quickly agreed and ran upstairs.

"Do you want to move in?" Alicia joked, "She would have kicked off if Will or I suggested that"

"That just because I'm not her Mother, I'm the cool Aunt" Diane said pouring another glass of red for herself and Alicia.

Alicia laughed, Diane was cool with her kids, but she always wondered what she would have been like as a Mother.

"Do you ever wish you had your own kids?" Alicia asked

"I do, all the time, I have been thinking about fostering or adopting, but not sure I have the time. I know you and Will struggled especially when they were younger"

"We did, but I wouldn't change all that for the world"

"I know, but there were 2 of your, its just me, and I often wonder how I will cope"

"Well, I think you should have a good think about it. You would make a brilliant Mother"

"Thanks Alicia, although I must admit, sometimes when I have borrowed yours, there is nothing I like more than handing them back" Diane joked.

….

"What the hell is going on" Will shouted as she got out of his car followed by Zach. Lucy was being sick on the side of the road, held up by Rachel. He walked over and put his shoulder under the other side of Lucy and rubbed small circles on her back.

Mike had no idea who this man was at first, but when he noticed Zach is became clear. He had recognised Zach from school he had popped in to see Lucy a couple of times at orchestra when he had forgotten his keys. He knew this was the Twins Dad, and he didn't want to be part of it now.

"Look Rachel, your Dad can take you both home now, I'll get out of your hair" Mike said as he walked towards his car.

"Wait, who are you and why were my daughters in your car?" Will asked accusingly

"Because I was being their knight in fucking shining armour and taking them home so they didn't have to walk. No need to Thank me!" He replied sarcastically as he got into the driver seat and drove off.

"What a jerk" Zach said

"Zach, give your sister a hand" Will said as the 3 of them got Lucy into the back seat, Rachel climbed in the other side and fastened both hers and Lucy's seatbelts as Zach jumped into the front. Once Will was in the car, he turned around and looked at his daughters. "You two better be ready to explain when you get home", he started the car and drove off.

Zach was happy, not that his sisters were in trouble, well he did like it when he got to watch them getting yelled at, but he was hoping that all of this commotion would mean his Dad would forget about their talk tomorrow.

…

Will drove into the driveway and got out of his car and opened the back door. "Zach, help me get Lucy into the house. Rachel, run in and get your Mum"

Rachel ran into the house and into the living room to find her Mum and Diane on the couch giggling.

"Hay Rachel, was your party good" Alicia asked

"Mum, Dad needs you outside, Lucy is drunk" Rachel exclaimed. Alicia jumped up from her seat followed by Diane who ran out to find Will and Zach with Lucy coming through the front door.

"Oh Lucy, what has happened?" Alicia asked

"The punch" was all Lucy replied, but it was slightly slurred

"She didn't know the punch had vodka in it" Rachel explained

"Did you know?" Alicia asked

"Well, yeah, but I wasn't with Lucy, she went outback with the kids from Music, I was inside the whole night, I didn't know"

"OK, let's get her upstairs" Alicia said as she and Will managed to get Lucy upstairs.

"I really hope you weren't drinking?" Diane asked

"Do I look like I've been drinking, I'm not the one with sick in my hair" Rachel replied in annoyance

"Oh Rach, I'm sorry" Diane said giving her a hug and immediately smelling beer from her.

"Rachel, you stink of beer" Diane said raising an eyebrow.

"I know someone spilled some on me" Rachel replied as she pulled away from her aunt "Do you not trust me"

"I don't know Rachel, last time you were out I had to come and collect you from an underground car park in the middle of the night, and now tonight you have been drinking again"

"You were drinking tonight?" Will said causing Rachel to spin on her heels

…..

Alicia was sitting on Lucy's bed; she had already got her out of the clothes she was wearing and into her pyjamas, and was sitting with wet wipes removing the make up from her face

"Mum, I didn't know it was alcohol" Lucy mumbled

"I know homey, but let this be a lesson to you for future" Alicia replied as she kissed her daughter on her head and placed a basin at the side of her bed. "If you feel sick come and get me, OK"

"OK Mum, Thank you"

….

"Dad, I wasn't drinking someone just spilled it on me, I swear" Rachel said as Will walked over and smelled Rachel's breath

"Your breath smells of beer"

"Yeah, but, well, that was because I was making out with a boy who had been drinking" Rachel replied embarrassed

"That better not have been Ben?" Will said "Or was it that boy from today"

"No, he is in Orchestra with Lucy, and yes it was Ben"

Will turned to Diane "Would it be wrong of me to wish we lose this case and he does time"

Diane laughed as Rachel had a serious look on her face

"You don't mean that do you?" Rachel said

"Of course I don't Rachel, but I do want you to stay away from him." Will said.

**Please Review**


	27. Will and Zach go on a hike

**So sorry this has taken so long, it's been soooo sunny and hot here for the past few days that we need to take full advantage of it. Will probably be pouring with rain again in a few days. Got to spend a lot of time out with the horses and with the kids so not had a chance to write. I don't really know many American clothes shops so apologies if these aren't quiet right. This is slightly longer than the last two chapters.**

"So will you talk to Zach tomorrow?" Alicia asked as her husband came into the bedroom, Will had just dropped Diane home. She had left her car at the Gardner's house, and would use her other car over the weekend. Will would drop Diane's car at the office on Monday before work; he had a few things to pick up before Alicia would pick him up to go to the Airport.

"I will, but can you talk to Rachel, she smells of Beer because she was making out with someone who was drinking it" Will said as he walked into their en-suit to get ready for bed.

"Will, she is 15, of course she is going to make out with boys" Alicia responded

"Well, I don't like it one bit" Will replied in a muffle with his toothbrush in his mouth as he walked through to the bedroom.

"I know, but they are growing up, we only have the twins at home for another 2 years before college, we need to make the most of the time."

"Don't remind me, at least we have Gracie for another 6 years, Ill be a wreck when she goes off to College" Will said after rinsing his mouth and coming into bed next to Alicia.

"We could always have another?" Alicia suggested

Will turned his head and smiled a mischievous smile

"Well lets get practicing then" he said as he straddled Alicia and placed his mouth on hers, Alicia's hands coming up to his head and running through his hair before pulling away.

"Wait, we need to talk about this first" Alicia said

"What's to talk about" Will said

"Well, do we really want another kid, or are we just depressed because our kids are getting older"

Will moved back to his side of the bed and thought for a moment

"We could do it you know?" he said

"I know, but do we really want to, midnight feeds, nappies, and a nanny. I can't give up at the firm, it's not fair to Diane" Especially since Alicia knew that Diane was thinking about adopting.

"It would be easier now, we have babysitters living at home, we can afford a nanny so you can go back to work quicker. I really think it's a great idea"

"I know you do, but please let's just think about it. It's not a decision to rush into" Alicia said as she took Wills hand and gave it a squeeze "It doesn't mean we can't practice tonight though" Alicia pulled the covers over them both and jumped on top of Will.

….

"Mum, can we go shopping today?" Grace asked as she sat at the kitchen table with pancakes that Alicia had made

"I don't know honey; we need to see what everyone else is doing?"

"But that's not fair, they all got to go out last night, can't we just go you and me. Please Mum"

Grace was right; they hadn't done anything just the 2 of them in a long time and adding another baby into the mix was just going to make it worse.

"OK, how about this afternoon you and I go to the Mall. We will buy some clothes, and go for dinner just the 2 of us"

"Yes please" Grace squealed as she wrapped her arms around her Mum "Can I get a bra too" she whispered "Everyone at school is wearing one"

"Yes we can" Alicia said as she pulled her youngest daughter into a tight hug

"Thank you Mum" Grace shouted in excitement

"What's got you so happy" Will said as he kissed his wife and youngest daughter on the head.

"I said I would take her shopping this afternoon, just the 2 of us" Alicia replied

"I was thinking of maybe going hiking with Zach so we can talk. What about the twins, could they not go with you?" Will asked

"I think Grace would like it if it was just us today, they can stay in themselves, I'm sure they will be fine" Alicia said as she poured some coffee for Will

"OK" Will said as he drank his coffee "But you will talk to Rachel later about what we discussed last night"

"Don't worry, I will" Alicia said giving him a kiss, although in the court room Will was a force to be reckoned with, when it came to his kids he was a big softie. He was strict, but all he cared about was his children's well being. Alicia couldn't ask for a better Husband or Father to her children.

….

Lucy woke up, her head was sore and she couldn't remember much from the night before, she remembered drinking the punch, not knowing it wasn't just juice but, She couldn't remember getting home and was worried about how her parents were going to react this morning. She got up from bed and noticed her makeup was off, she was in her pyjamas and her clothes, including the extremely short top she had on under her sweater were folded neatly on her desk chair. She opened the curtains and groaned as the sunlight flooded into the room, it was then she noticed a dull aching headache. She pulled her housecoat off the back of the door and tied it tightly around her waist before going downstairs.

"Hi Mum, Dad" Lucy said as she sat at the table next to her sister.

"Here, drink this, it will help" Will said pushing a cup of coffee in front of her

"Thanks Dad, look I'm sorry about last night, I swear I had no idea their was alcohol in the punch"

"I know you didn't, but from now on ask before you just drink something, OK"

"I will, Dad, how did I get home?"

"Well, you and your sister were in a car with some boy. And I must say he was very rude and I don't think I want you around him anymore, and you were out on the road being sick when I drove by with Zach"

"Oh God, I was being sick on the road, I'm so embarrassed" Lucy said putting her head down over her coffee cup.

"It's OK baby" Alicia said whilst rubbing her back

"Yeah, I'm sure no one saw you" Will said

"Who was the Boy that drove you home?"

"I don't know" Lucy said, she was sure it would have been Mike, but Mike would never be rude, maybe it was Ben. "Was it maybe Ben?"

"No, its wasn't Ben, I'll ask your sister" Will said not dropping it; he was determined to know who the boy was his daughters were with last night. "Drink your coffee up, it will help you feel better"

"Thanks Dad" Lucy said offering a small smile before sipping her coffee.

…

Later that day Alicia and Grace were out at the shops, the had just been into Macys and spent a small fortune

"Now, whatever you do, don't tell your Dad the price of those new boots. If he asks tell him they were $100in the sale"

"But Mum, they were way more than that" Grace laughed

"Yep, but Dad doesn't need to know that does he"

"No, I guess not"

"Now how about we go for some coffee, I really need a cup" Alicia said as they headed towards Starbucks

"This nice isn't is" Alicia said after she ordered her coffee and Graces smoothie

"Yep, I like it when it is just us"

"I know things have been a little hectic recently, with work and your brother and sisters, but it's nice to just catch up"

"Yeah" she replied staring into her drink

"So, how is School?"

"Good"

"How are your teachers?"

"Good"

"Come on Grace, in order to have a conversation we need to speak to each other, no more one word answers"

"OK, well can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Sweetie, you can ask me anything?"

"Is Dad, my real Dad?"

Alicia was taken aback by the question

"No, I mean are you both my real parents, Zach said that I must be adopted because I'm the only blonde in the family"

"Oh Honey, you're not adopted. I know because I spent 16 hours in labour with you"

"But Zach…"

"Never mind Zach, I will be having words with him when I get home."

"But why am I blonde?"

"Well I was never that great at biology, but I know genetics are complex, but you know Grandpa Cauvaghna, well he was blonde, and so was Grandma Gardner"

"Were they?"

"Yes, so you stop your worrying, you are definitely your mother's daughter. We have the same taste in shoes and the same nose" Alicia said tapping her daughter's nose

"Thanks Mum, and thanks for all my new clothes, I just wish I could wear my own clothes to school instead of a stupid uniform"

…

"Dad, do we need to go a hike" Zach said, he really just wanted to play his computer, but Will was insistent.

"Yes, go get your hiking boots on we are going to Blackwell Forrest"

"But I have homework"

"Zach we are going, the fresh air will do you good." Will replied forcefully as Zach finally went for his boots. "Girls" he shouted as he walked into the family room, Lucy was lying on the couch watching TV and Rachel was painting her nails. "I want you both on your best behaviour. Mum and Grace are only at the Mall so call them if you need anything. Zach and I will be back 4 to 5 hours, and Lucy, try and drink more water"

"OK Dad, bye" Rachel smiled

It wasn't long before Zach and Will were away leaving just the girls in themselves.

"Lucy, I'm going to call Ben to come round are you OK with that, Dad will be gone for ages, and Mum has just went out"

"Only if he brings me a McDonalds"

"Deal" Rachel said as she quickly started texting on her phone.

Twenty minutes later and Lucy was in the kitchen eating a McDonalds whilst Rachel and Ben were in her room finishing where they left off last night. Rachel couldn't quiet put her finger on it, but something was different, there were no sparks, no electricity, not like how it was when Mike just touched her hand accidently. She could tell Ben was feeling it too.

"Ben, this doesn't feel right"

"No, I just keep thinking your Abbeys friend"

"That didn't bother you last night?"

"No, but now I'm in your room and look you have soft toys like her, and I'm sorry I just can't you are just a kids"

"I'm not a kid, but you know what, that's fine, just leave"

"Fine, Ill go" Ben said as he got up pulled his jeans back on and stormed out.

….

Will and Zach arrived at the Forest, ready for their hike, the whole way to south west of Chicago, Zach had listened to his music the entire way and Will drove in silence, but not they were there he was going to make it very clear, no music

"Leaver you IPod in the car" Will instructed as they got out

"Dad, you said this wouldn't be all cheesy father son crap" Zach said

"I did, and it won't be, let's just go"

They started on their walk, Zach waiting on any mention of Sophia, but Will had decided he was going to go a different route.

"So, that Boy that was with the Twins last night, any idea who he is?"

"Yeah, he is in band with Lucy"

"With Lucy, I thought he was friends with Rachel"

"I don't know Dad; I don't see much of them in School"

"Although he was quiet rude to us last night, it was quiet nice how he was looking out for your sister and brought them home, you wouldn't want them walking about alone at night"

"No, I wouldn't" Zach said, slightly confused about where the conversation was going.

"I mean you love your sisters and you want to protect them. Especially Grace, I mean she is your baby sister"

"Yeah, so"

"Every girl has a Father, Brother or Uncle who care for them, I bet Sophia does"

"Yeah, her Dad is really suspicious of me from what she has said" Zach replied

"Well can you blame him, I mean Rachel and this Ben guy, you know I'm suspicious of him"

"Yeah, but it's different, Ben is older and a jerk, I'm neither"

"It doesn't matter, her Dad doesn't know that does he, and you need to make sure that you treat Sophia properly. If she ever doesn't want to do something then you won't force her"

"Dad of course I won't force her"

"I know you won't Son" Will said placing his hand on Zach's shoulder "I just need to have this conversation with you, so I know, that you understand"

"I'm not stupid you know, Look Sophia and I are just having fun, we have no intention of having sex, and we just want to go to the movies and date. Is that too much to ask"

"No, but I am reluctant to let Rachel date for another year, and you are a year younger, so you need to promise me that you will act responsibly, otherwise you won't be dating till your 16"

"Dad, that's not fair though, why can't Lucy and Rachel date"

"I said Rachel isn't, and that's down to her behaviour the past couple of months nothing for you to worry about"

"Seems Silly to me, if you don't let her she will just sneak around, then you have more to worry about" Zach said, and suddenly what he said made sense to Will. The more he pushed Rachel and Ben apart the more it would push them together.

"Your right, look Ill talk to Rachel later, but I want you to remember this, make sure you treat Sophia in a way that you would be happy for a boy to treat one of your sisters. Does that sound fair?"

"Yes, it does" Zach said. It wasn't long until they reached a clearing in the woods where they sat and ate the sandwiches that Alicia had made for them earlier.

**Please Review, they make me happy.**


	28. Ben is a jerk

**Thank you all soooo much for your kind reviews. Sorry its been a few days since my last update, but my little sister got married yesterday and today was the day the Queens baton came through our town for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games so its been a little hectic, and anyone who has ever been to a Scottish/Irish Wedding knows the next day is usually very unproductive.**

Ben stormed out of the house with Lucy sitting in the living room watching junk TV, but she wasn't really paying attention to anything until she heard the door slam and seem Ben out of the window. Lucy got up and ascended the stairs to the third floor where both she and her sister had a bed room

"What's up with Ben?" Lucy asked as she sat on the bed next to her sister.

"He is a total jerk, what an ass"

"What did he do, I thought you two were mad about each other?" Lucy said placing an arm around her sister's shoulder.

"He says I'm too young for him. Funny I wasn't too young when he was buying me shots at the bar a few weeks ago"

"Look, its no secret that Ben is a jerk, everyone can see it, you would be better off with a nice buy like Mike"

How true Rachel thought to herself, it was her and Mike that got her into this mess

"Ill leave the goody too shoes for you" she replied as she wiped a tear from her face and stood up.

"I'll show them who is a little kids, Sophie is having a party tonight, and Ill need to find the perfect outfit" Rachel said as Lucy rolled her eyes at her sister.

"Yeah, cos Mum and Dad are really going to get us out again tonight"

"I'll ask them nicely" Rachel replied as she walked over to her wardrobe to find the perfect outfit.

….

Alicia and Grace had finished their coffee, and had continued with a bit more shopping before heading to the parking lot and coming home. Alicia walked into the house and went straight to the kitchen to start dinner when she noticed the McDonalds wrapper.

"Lucy, Rachel, can you come downstairs please" Alicia called.

Both girls ran down the stairs to see their Mum with the McDonalds drink cup.

"Did you go out?" she asked

"No, I got someone to bring it for me, but I didn't think I wasn't allowed out anyway" Lucy replied

"No, I was just wondering, although your dinner will be ready soon and you had better eat it" Alicia replied

"Sorry, I was hungry" Lucy stated as she took the box and cup from her Mum and placed them in a bin.

"So Mum, this brings up a good point, you know if we could drive we could get our own McDonalds and you know Drivers Ed is starting in a few weeks, can we get our licences"

"Let me talk to your father, you need to complete drivers ed before you apply for your permit, so sign yourself up for it" Alicia replied to joyous similes from her daughters

"But, remember driving is a privilege not a right, one that I can take away from you whenever I want"

"But we can really get our licence soon" Lucy asked

"Let me talk to Dad, but I see no reason why not"

"Thank you Mum" Lucy and Rachel shouted in unison as they both threw their arms around their mother.

Alicia left the room and Lucy turned around to Rachel "So, you don't seem too upset about Ben now"

"No, well, I can do so much better than boring Ben" she replied as she picked a cookie out of the biscuit tin and left.

….

Later on that evening Will and Zach had got home from their hike, both of them totally exhausted, Zach had already went up to his room to text Sophia and have an early night.

Alicia was in the living room with Grace drying her hair for her after she had washed it and Will was reading a briefing.

"Mum, Dad, I was wondering if I could go out tonight." Rachel asked quickly as she entered the room

"Out where?" Alicia asked

"A Party"

"I don't think so Rach, you were at a party last night?" Will replied

"But, it's a Saturday night" she griped as her hands found their way to her hips

"Is your sister going?"

"Well no, she wasn't invited, but that's just because she doesn't really know anyone who is going, they are all in my classes"

"No, your not going out tonight, I think your Mother wants to talk to you tonight" Will replied as Alicia's turned to look at her husband.

"Honey, go upstairs I will be up shortly to talk to you and Lucy" Alicia replied "Grace that's your hair all done, why don't you go put your pyjamas on"

Grace ran upstairs leaving Will and Alicia alone. "What did you say that for, I wasn't going to talk to her tonight?"

"Well what better time, I spoke to Zach today so it's your turn to speak to the girls

"My turn, why don't you speak to the girls?" Alicia said angrily

"Well, if you want, but I don't think they would like that" Will answered back with his voice slightly raised

"No, I wouldn't put them through that, I will talk to the girls, but when I think they need talked to, and right now I don't think they do"

"Really, Rachel was making out with a boy who had been drinking beer last night, and they got a ride home from an unknown boy, either Lucy knows who he is, or she doesn't want us to know who he is"

"What you think Lucy has a boyfriend?"

"I don't know, but right now nothing would surprise me" Will said

"OK, I will go and talk to them, and I need to talk to Zach, he told Grace that she was adopted today and not really our child" Alicia said getting up and leaving.

….

"I hate this house, they treat us like prisoners" Rachel shouted as she slammed the door to Lucy room

"Oh stop being so dramatic, what did they say you couldn't go out to your party tonight" Lucy rolled her eyes at her sister

"I'm not being dramatic, you're just jealous that you didn't get invited" she replied back shortly

"Can you please get out of my room" Lucy replied as she flopped on to her bed with a pillow hugged to her chest.

"Fine" Rachel replied slamming the door again.

…..

Alicia walked upstairs and knocked on Lucy's door. Lucy knew it wasn't her sister she never knocked

"Come in" she called before Alicia walked into the bedroom

"Hi Darling, how are you feeling, is your head still sore" Alicia said as she sat on Lucy's bed

"No, it's OK; I'm just annoyed at Rachel"

"Why, what's happened, you know the two of you are both so much happier when you are friends"

"She is being stuck up, she got invited to a party that I didn't and she is moaning as you won't let her go. I told her to stop being a drama Queen and she said I was just jealous that I wasn't invited. I couldn't really careless if I got invited to the stupid party"

"Well, in that case don't let it bother you." Alicia said as she gently tucked a piece of hair behind Lucy's ear. "Sweetie, you would tell me if there was a boy you liked, I know Rachel has been involved with a boy"

"I'm not Rachel, just because she is shallow doesn't mean I am"

"Liking boys doesn't make you shallow, its just part of growing up, and if you don't like one there is nothing wrong with that either. I just want you to know that you can talk to me about whatever you want"

"I know Mum, but there is nothing to tell yet" Lucy wanted to tell her Mum about Mike but he was a bit older and she was sure they wouldn't approve yet. She didn't want to tell her parent just yet, not until she knew they were definitely going to get together properly.

"OK, but just remember I'm here whenever you need to talk" Alicia hugged Lucy before getting up and going to Rachel's room to have a similar conversation.

"Rachel, we need to talk" Alicia said

"What about?"

"You and Ben" Alicia said sitting on the bed across from Rachel who was sitting on at her desk. Rachel's desk was unlike her sisters a mess full of make up and hair straightners with no schoolbook in site.

"Well don't bother Ben and I are over" Rachel replied.

"Oh sweetie I'm sorry" Alicia said although to be honest she was quiet glad.

"I thought you would be happy?"

"I'm never happy if you are upset" Alicia replied

"Well, It's OK, I'm not upset and don't really care, I only went out with him for something to do" Rachel replied, but Alicia knew this wasn't really true, she knew that Rachel must be hurting.

"It's OK to be upset you know, but what I don't want is for you take it out on your brother and sister. Lucy is quiet upset that you think she had no friends and is jealous of you"

"Mum, I didn't say that, she was being a bitch, gloating …."

"Oi, I don't want to hear language like that from you again" Alicia raised an eyebrow at her daughter

"Sorry, but she was gloating that I wasn't allowed to go to a party"

"Well, that is your fathers and my decision, you were at a party last night, and remember you are still on probation don't forget, so you will apologise to Lucy do you understand."

"OK Mum, but can I at least go out next weekend"

"We will see" Alicia replied kissing Rachel's head.

Alicia left Rachel's room and head to her sons, he was sitting on his bed reading a book with his music on.

"How was your hike?" Alicia asked him

"Boring as always" Zach replied

"Well your Dad enjoyed himself; he likes it when the two of you get to spend time together"

"I like spending time with him too, just not hiking"

"You know what you said to Grace this morning, it really upset her"

"Mum, that was just a joke, she asked me why she had blonde hair and I joked she was adopted"

"Zach, that not nice, she was really upset"

"OK, I tell her I'm sorry"

"Thank you" Alicia replied

**OK, so this was just a little chapter, the next one is going to have some proper drama in it, but it will probably be a few days before I get it up.**


	29. Getting ready for DC

"Where are Rachel and Zach?" Alicia asked as the rest of the family were sitting at breakfast. It was now Monday morning, Will and Alicia were going to D.C for the Defence Lawyers conference. The company were thinking of opening a new office in D.C and New York which would see them adding a lot more travel to their schedule.

"Rachel is still getting ready and Zach just got up" Lucy said as she spooned some cereal into her mouth.

"Zach stayed up late playing on his Xbox" Grace stated, something which Alicia and Will were unaware of until now.

Alicia was going to drive her car to the office after dropping the kids off and Will would go straight there with Diane's car to return it after she left it on Friday night, he would pick her up on the way to the office.

"I can't wait till Auntie Diane gets home tonight and we can watch Frozen" Grace added excitedly. At times Grace wanted to be cool and do the things her sisters done, but at other times she enjoyed doing more child like things.

"You have something you have to do before you watch anything tonight" Will reminded her.

Grace groaned, she hated homework, it felt so unfair that she had to spend all day in school and then come home to school work too.

"Grace" Will said in a warning tone "I don't want to hear any bad reports from Aunite Diane that you didn't do your homework when I get home" he brushed some crumbs from his lap as he stood up and walked to the stairs to call Rachel and Zach down again.

"You won't I'll do my homework" Grace said sullenly to her Dad, as Rachel finally came downstairs. She had curled her hair, had make up on with a lot of eye makeup and her skirt was rolled up at the waist to make is shorter. Her school jumper was over the blouse which had a couple of buttons undone which no one could see yet.

"Rachel, go upstairs and get changed please" Will said as Zach came down the stair still half asleep.

"No, I look fine and I'm still in my uniform" Rachel replied as Alicia came out of the kitchen after hearing the commotion.

"Fix your skirt now!" Alicia said exasperated, she really didn't need a fight between Will and Rachel over clothes this early in the morning. "Zach, go get some breakfast" she called into the kitchen.

"And go wash that makeup off" Will added

"Mum" Rachel said turning her head around and pleading with her Mum.

"Do what your father says, now go?"

Rachel stormed up stairs shouting about how much of an injustice it was, but no one was really listening or paying any attention.

"Will, did you have to get yourself involved? we need to pick our battles wisely."

"She is not going out looking like that, that skirt was a belt, and the make up was just too much,"

"Her skirt wasn't any shorter than some of my suits, and I have very similar makeup" Alicia said.

"Yes, but your not 15. Rachel doesn't need that kind of makeup she is beautiful without it" Will said quickly noticing his mistake as Alicia glared at him. "Not that your not beautiful, I just meant Rachel is still young"

"You're digging yourself a deeper hole Mr Gardner" Alicia said playfully slapping his shoulder.

Rachel went upstairs, and took her eye make up and lipstick off before sticking it in her bag, she unrolled her skirt and walked downstairs. "Is that better, now I look like everyone else, just another clone in a Capstone uniform"

"That's enough Rachel, you look like a beautiful clone" Alicia said handing her daughter some toast "Your going to need to eat on the move or you will be late" she said giving her a kiss, "I will see you on Tuesday night" Alicia kissed all her kids as they got themselves into the car and ready to drive to school.

…..

Will drove to Diane's and got out of the car to help with her luggage.

"Its one night?" Will said questionable glancing at the luggage in his boot.

"Yes and it might rain tomorrow, I have no idea what to wear" she replied. Living with a wife and 3 daughters Will understood the workings of a females mind when it came to clothes and just laughed.

"Will, make sure you have a good weekend, and if you and Alicia want to play hooky from the conference, well I wont mind" Diane said.

"We will try and get some work done, not promising though" he replied smiling.

They drove to the office where Will finished off a bit of work and picked up some documents and a package he had saved in his safe for a few weeks now before Alicia got there.

…

Alicia drove to Graces school and pulled up outside to let her out.

"See you on Tuesday sweetie" she said giving her a cuddle, before driving off with the 3 older kids.

"So tonight, I don't want any nonsense. Rachel, you are not to go out anywhere after school and I want you to make a start on your science project. Zach, no computer after 9pm is that clear?" Alicia said

"Mum, that's so unfair" Rachel said from the back of the car

"Rachel, you are not going out, end of conversation. Zach, you are not to use your computer after 9pm, is that understood"

"Yes, but I'm not a child, I can stay up late"

"Really, because this morning you were struggling to get up, and I will be telling Diane all of this too, so don't think you can tell her you're allowed out, or on the computer"

"It's still not fair, Lucy is allowed out and I'm not"

"Rachel, we have been through this before" Alicia said as she parked outside the school "Now, best behaviour and I will see you all on tomorrow night"

…..

"She is so unreasonable" Rachel whined as she slammed her locker shut

"What's so wrong with staying in?"

"Nothing if you're a loser, no offence" Rachel replied, she didn't realised how much these comments hurt Lucy, to Rachel it was just fun, but that wasn't the case for Lucy.

"Well maybe I will go out tonight, Mum didn't say I couldn't" Lucy said smiling as she walked away

"Wait, that's it, Thank you so much Lucy"

"For what" Lucy was confused, she was planning on seeing if Mike wanted to go out later tonight

"Well, you can pretend to be me and stay home, and I will go to the party"

"I don't think so, I'm going to ask Mike if he wants to catch a movie tonight" Lucy said walking off towards Mike's locker. She saw him from afar with some of the other sophomores who she didn't really know very well. Rachel walked to the toilets where she fixed her skirt and got her makeup back on to the way she liked it.

"Hey Mike, I was wondering if you want to catch a Movie tonight, we could go and see anything you want" Lucy said nervously as she pulled her socks up.

"Eh, I don't think so" he said walking by her towards his class.

"OK, what about tomorrow night?"

"I don't know Lucy, how about I let you know when I'm free" he replied whilst walking away.

Lucy felt deflated, she was looking forward to going out tonight and now she would need to stay at home, Rachel might as well be off having fun. There was no point in both of them being stuck at home bored.

….

"So Mrs Gardner, are you ready to go?" Will asked Alicia as he walked into her office. He placed a kiss on her head and she put her arms around his waist tucking herself neatly beneath his chin. She loved the smell of his aftershave and took a deep breath taking in his smell for as long as possible.

"Almost ready, I just want to get changed into something more comfortable for the flight" she replied as she went into the bathroom and got changed into jeans and plum cashmere sweater.

Will quickly checked his pocket to make sure his special package was still there and to his relief it was, he didn't want to lose it after the amount he paid for it.

"I'm ready" Alicia said as she grabbed her overnight bag and head down to her car with Will as they got ready to drive to O'Hare airport.

"One rule for when this trip, other than when we are at the conference, no talk of work or the kids. It's just you and me" Will said

"It's a deal" Alicia replied giggling. Will loved to see Alicia this way, it was like she was young and carefree, and something she rarely had a chance to be. She had a Mother who loved her, but was more like a big sister than a mother. And she spent so much time looking after Will, the kids and working full time. It was like a much simpler time when it was just Will and her as newly wed before the kids coming along.

"I love it when you laugh"

"And I love it when you make me laugh" she replied as they drove to the airport.

…..

Lucy came out of Maths and met Rachel by their lockers, it was recess and Rachel was about to rush off to meet Abbey.

"Rach, if you want to go out tonight, Ill pretend to be you, but promise me you won't get into trouble and you will be home by curfew and you will need to straighten your hair"

"OK, I promise, Lucy you are the best, I owe you one"

"You owe me more than one, and one day you will repay the favour"

"OK, anything, but you need to dress in my clothes tonight and you need to talk like me, and act like me"

"Oh come on Rach, I can be you, it's not like we have never done it before"

"Yeah, but never to fully Aunt Diane, she can tell us apart"

"Yeah, she can even tell us apart in these uniforms" Lucy replied

"OK, easy just go to my bed and tell her you don't feel well" Rachel replied

"Yeah, because I'm just going to go to bed all night, cheers Rach"

"Please" Rachel replied

"OK, look I will go to your room and watch Netflix, but I swear you owe me big time"

"OK, Well when you and Mike want to go out on a hot date, I'll cover" Rachel replied as the girls walked off to their next class.

…

"Dinners here kids" Diane shouted as she struggled into the kitchen with pizzas, wedge, coke and chicken strips.

"Auntie Diane, can we eat at the TV, then we can watch Frozen" Grace said as Zach screwed his face up, obviously disgusted by the thought of a girly Disney princess movie.

"No, we will eat in the kitchen, and have you finished your homework as per our deal"

"Well, I have finished some of it" Grace smiled

"I'm afraid you need to finish all of it first"

"What do you two have planned for tonight?" Diane asked looking towards the twins

"Well, I was going to go out with some kids from the orchestra" Rachel said as sweetly as she could.

"And what about you Rachel?" Diane asked looking at Lucy.

"No, she is Lucy" Grace said pointing to her sister

"No, I'm Lucy" Rachel insisted looking at Diane, but she wasn't convinced.

"OK then Lucy, in you go to the Family Room and play me something on the piano" Diane said to Rachel.

"Emm, OK" Rachel said as she walked over to the piano and began playing twinkle twinkle little star out of time and missing half the notes.

"Nice try girls, you are both staying in tonight, now lets get back to dinner" Diane said firmly as she raised an eyebrow at her God-daughters.

"Are you going to tell Mum and Dad?" Rachel asked.

"That depends on your behaviour the rest of the night and tomorrow"

"What's happened to you, you used to be fun Auntie Diane?" Zach said knowing there was no chance he was going to get a chance to play on Xbox tonight.

"You lot turned into teenagers" Diane replied

"I'm not a teenager yet" Grace said sounding hurt at being tarnished with the same brush as her brother and sisters

"You are wise beyond your years Grace Darling" Diane replied to a smile from the youngest girl

…..

**OK, this chapter was meant to be much longer, but I have been so busy this week.**

**The Drama will need to wait till next Chapter, otherwise it would be ages before I got and update done.**


	30. What happens in DC

**Thank you all so much for the best reviews ever. I promise I will try and check my spelling, punctuation and grammar. I know I'm not very strong in that area. I struggled when I was younger learning to read and write as I suffer from quiet bad dyslexia, but now its so much better than what it was when I was younger.**

"That was amazing" Alicia stated as she cuddled into Will, "When was the last time we got to do that in the middle of the day?"

"1999 maybe", Will answered as he pulled his wife even closer. They lay together for a few minutes until Will glanced at the clock at the side of the bed.

"Alicia, its 5pm, why don't you go put on your black satin dress; you know the one with the ruffles at the side."

"I didn't pack it, I though this was a work holiday?" she questioned curiously

"It's in my case" he whispered as he placed kisses tenderly down Alicia's neck which led to a small groan from her lips. "Shhh, plenty of time for that tonight" he replied as he quickly stood up from the bed.

Alicia opened the bag, got her dress, Will had even packed some sexy lingerie, and headed to freshen up and get changed, the thoughts of what was to come running through her head.

Will quickly got changed, ready for his wife; he checked his pocket to make sure that the small package was still in its place in his pocket. Finally they were both ready to go.

"I wish you would tell me what you have planned" Alicia said placing her arm through his and grabbing his hand as they walked along the street. This place was special to both of them, it's where they spent an amazing part of their lives, and it was where they had met and the flame of their love had ignited.

"You'll see soon enough baby" Will replied as they continued their walk. It was a cool summer's night and Alicia had placed a scarf around her shoulders to keep the chill at bay. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you in that dress?"

"You may have once or twice"

"Although I can't wait to get you out of it tonight" he whispered in her ear so no one passing by could hear. Alicia grinned a mischievous grin and continued to be led by her husband.

It didn't take them long to arrive at "La Perella" an Italian Restaurant where not only did Will propose, but where they had their first ever date.

"Will, I didn't even know this place was still opened" Alicia said excitedly as they entered.

"Ahh, Will and Alicia, how are you?" a familiar voice said as Alicia spun round to see Tony.

Tony was the restaurant owner; he was on first name terms with Will and Alicia when they were at Georgetown, as they came here for dinner at least once a week.

"We are great Tony, How are you?" Alicia said letting go for Wills hand to give Tony a quick hug.

"I'm great, the restaurant is still going well, and I'm retiring next month, Tony Junior is taking over"

"Well make sure you enjoy your retirement" Will said "And if you come to Chicago let us know"

They were taken to a small table at the back, this is where they always used to sit, Tony had even joked about naming the table after them all those years ago. Alicia was glad to see her favourite speciality pizza was still on the menu and Will as always ordered the pasta with extra cheese.

"Looking at you this could have been us 20 years ago, you haven't aged a day"

"Well you clearly need glasses" Alicia said laughing as she took a sip of the merlot Will had ordered.

"No, you look beautiful" Will said as he reached into his pocket and dropped to one knee. "Alicia, will you please be my wife again, I want us to do it all again, but this time with our children present"

Alicia laughed with a huge grin across her face. "Will, of course I will, now get up you fool, everyone is looking"

"Let them look, then everyone will know that you're with me" he whispered as he gently pushed the diamond and ruby eternity ring onto Alicia's finger.

…..

"There is no way I'm staying in tonight" Rachel said to Lucy who was reading Romeo and Juliet for school

"Rach, just give it up"

"No way, Ill just go out Graces window again"

"Will you ever learn?"

"Mum and Dad will never find out, look, I'll just tell Auntie Diane I'm going to bed, Grace will cover for me"

"Grace, you're going to get Grace to cover for you, Grace is the kid that can't keep her mouth shut"

"She will for me" Rachel replied as she put a coat of mascara on her already long lashes

"What have you got on Grace?" Lucy asked

"I signed her letter for not doing her homework last week"

"You faked Dad's signature" Lucy shouted

"Keep your voice down, and no, not Dad's, Mum's"

"You're dead when they find out"

"Well they won't find out, and I'll just deny I did it if they do"

"You are playing with fire, but if you want to get Grace to cover for you, feel free, but she didn't cover for us very well earlier when she told Auntie Diane I was me." Lucy said as she left her sisters room and went downstairs.

"Grace, have you done your homework yet?" Diane called into the family room where Grace was on the couch staring at Zach playing X box.

"Almost" Grace replied as she picked up her IPod from the table

"I'll have that, Thank you" Diane said taking the IPod from the girl

"But…."

"You can get it back once you have finished your homework" Diane replied walking out of the living room.

Lucy came down the stairs with her book and a bottle of coke.

"You know when she gets like that Dad makes her go into the Dining room. Its so funny he sits across from her and watches her until she does it. He just stares, poor Grace gets so uncomfortable"

"I might need to resort to that, its 7pm now"

"Zach, have you done all your homework?" Diane called into the family room

"Yeah, all done" he called back not taking his eyes away from the screen.

Rachel ran downstairs when Diane was in the kitchen and whispered some instruction to Grace. Graces job was to make sure that Diane did not go upstairs until she was home. Rachel had said she would be home long before 11pm which was when Alicia and Will usually insisted that she, Lucy and Zach went to bed. She then ran back upstairs to get ready and put the plan into action.

Half an hour later Rachel was already out the window and away to a party, this time it was only a few weeks ago and she would easily be able to walk so getting home wasn't going to be an issue.

"I have the popcorn" Lucy shouted as she Diane and Grace were sitting together on the sofa. Grace had put frozen into the DVD player and pressed play

"I'm so excited to see this again" Grace said

"I can't wait, we have been practicing the songs from it in music, I even sang one called Let it Go"

"You got to sing let it go" Grace said excitedly

"Yeah"

"Go on, sing it now"

"No way, I'm rubbish"

"I bet your not rubbish, I hear you singing in the shower your good" Grace replied

"OK, but I need to play it on the piano at the same time, so I have a tune"

The 3 of them walked into the other room and Lucy sat at the piano and started to play the introduction before starting to sing.

"She is really good" Grace whispered to Diane

"Yes she is" Diane replied smiling at her God daughter who was in her own world singing along.

"Well that was just delightful" Diane said when she had finished, "when did you get so good" she added pulling her into a tight hug.

"I'm not that good"

"You need to learn to take a compliment" Diane added as they walked back into see the movie

"Can you sing it at my party?"

"Eh, what party, your birthday was a few months ago"

"Well, I was hoping that we could have a 4th of July party, you know all of us. We can all invite friends and we can have it at the pool with Fireworks"

"Have you asked Mum and Dad Yet?"

"No, but Ill get them to say yes"

"Right, lets get this DVD back on so it's finished before bed time" Diane said as Grace pushed the play button.

"I hate having a bed time" Grace stated

….

"Hay Rachel, you made it" Mike said as he spotted Rachel coming through the door.

"Yeah"

"What about Lucy is she here?"

"No, she was too much of a goody too shoes to sneak out" Rachel said as she stood closer to him, he smiled at hearing Lucy wasn't with her sister.

"Do you want a drink?"

"Sure" Rachel said taking a bottle of beer from his hand

The two of them sat on the couch, Rachel didn't actually know that many people here, most of them went to public school, there were only a few of them from Capstone here.

"Do you want some pot?" Mike asked

"No thanks"

"Are you sure"

"Yeah, not on a school night"

"Yeah your right, best saving it for the weekend, but a wee one won't hurt" Mike said as he rolled a joint. Rachel sat next to him as he smoked, and it wasn't long before the 2 of them started making out. Soon, they left the living room to find a spare bedroom.

….

"Well, I must say I enjoyed that movie" Diane said. They were quiet a sight on the couch, Diane was in the middle with Lucy on the left, her head against Diane shoulder with Diane arm around her, Grace was in the same position on the right.

"It was really good" Lucy agreed

"It's my favourite film ever" Grace said shovelling the last of the pop corn into her mouth.

"Well Grace, its way by your bed time, why don't you go upstairs and get ready for bed. And can you tell Rachel to come down, I want to see her Science project that she is working on and tell Zach its 9:20 and his computer time is up,"

"OK, Night Auntie Diane" Grace said before running upstairs.

"Lucy sweetie, you know you are really talented, your song was really good"

"Thank you"

"You should think about performing"

"Well, I had thought about it, my Music teacher said I can if I want at the school concert next month, but what happens if I make a mistake, there is no instrument to hide behind"

"I doubt you will make a mistake, you should go for it, and I promise I will come and see you"

"Thanks, I'm going to go upstairs and get ready for bed too" Lucy said running upstairs to the 2nd floor where her Brother and Sister were in Zach's room.

"Lucy we have tried calling Rach, she isn't answering, you're going to have to pretend to be her, take your Science project down to Auntie Diane"

"No way, I'm not lying for her again"

"Please, she will tell Mum and Dad about my letter if you don't"

"Grace, she won't, if she tells Mum and Dad she will get herself into even more trouble for signing it in the first place" Lucy explained to her worried younger sister. "You should have told them the truth in the first place"

"Please Lucy, can't you just do it"

"Fine, let me go up and put some Pyjama's on and my hair up" Lucy said. Rachel always wore her hair up at night in a pony tail whereas Lucy preferred to keep hers down.

….

Fifteen minutes later Lucy came downstairs in Rachel's Justin Timberlake oversized Tee-shirt that she wore to bed often. Grace had a similar one she often wore except hers was Justin Beiber. The girls used to fight over who was best, Will often joked it was the battle of the Justin's.

"Hi Auntie Diane, Grace said you wanted me" Lucy said

"I did, I haven't seen you all night, and I just wanted to make sure you were OK?"

"Yeah fine, I was watching Beverly Hills on Netflix"

"What about your science project?

"Well, I just started it, I promise, I'll work on it all day tomorrow"

"OK, well I'll hold you to that, your parents said they wanted you to make a good start on it" Diane reminded her.

"I know, I will tomorrow, I promise"

"OK, do you want something to eat or drink?"

"No thanks, I'm going to go back upstairs" Lucy said before heading back upstairs and putting her own pyjamas on, brushing her teeth and heading downstairs to say good night again.

Diane knew something wasn't right, that was too quiet for Rachel, and she was fairly certain that was Lucy and not Rachel.

"Good night Auntie Diane" Lucy said as she came back downstairs, this time in an oversized Wicked Tee-shirt.

"Lucy sweetie, can you sit down for a few moments" Diane asked

Lucy did as she was asked and sat on the couch. Diane walked over to the stairs and called up "Rachel, can you come down please"

"Zach, what are we going to do? Lucy is already downstairs" Grace said as she heard her older sister being called.

"I don't know he replied as he and Grace out of the room and down stairs.

"She is already asleep" Grace said quickly

"Really, so if I go upstairs she will be in her bed?" Diane asked

"Can I just say this has nothing to do with me" Zach said

"Really, because if you knew then you're an accomplice and you are involved"

"But I didn't want any part in it, neither did Lucy" Zach said

"Lucy, are you ready to tell the truth?"

"Rachel went out of Graces window to a party; she will be home by eleven. Grace was meant to be covering by stopping you from going upstairs. When you wanted to see Rachel she asked me to pretended"

"Lucy, why did you have to tell?" Grace shouted

"Because we have been found out, there is no point in lying"

"But….. I hate you" Grace shouted as she ran upstairs

"Grace Gardner, come back here" Diane shouted as the young girl ran off.

"What was that all about?" Diane asked.

"I've already got enough people into trouble today; all you need to know is that Rachel is keeping something from Mum and Dad for Grace"

"So Rachel is blackmailing your sister" Diane stated

"Yes, but I can't tell you what, I don't really know all the details myself, are you going to tell on us to Mum and Dad"

"Well, I don't want to spoil there trip so I'm not going to call them, but I do have to tell them tomorrow"

"OK, I guess I'm going to be grounded again"

"It looks like it, sorry darling"

"Its OK, it's not like Ill miss much anyway, I don't like those stupid parties that Rach goes to"

"Well what do you enjoy doing?"

"I like going out with you to shows, and concerts, and I like going out to the Cinema and bowling, but no one wants to do that these days, they all just want to go to parties"

"Well you just need to try and find yourself a nice group of sensible friends, and I know you can, I promise everything will fall nicely into place" Diane replied, as Lucy phone chimed to alert her to a text.

….

"Mike, we shouldn't, I'm just not ready yet" Rachel said as she pulled her top back on

"Come on don't be a tease" he replied

"I'm not, look, I like you, but this isn't how I imagined my first time, lets just make out a bit longer"

"OK, if you really don't want to then that's fine, but you know you and I are meant to be, do you feel it now"

"I do, but you need to break it off with my sister, promise me you will, then once she has got over you we can get together"

"I will, I'll dump her tomorrow"

"Dump, that's such a strong word, you need to be gentle with her, she is very sensitive"

"OK, I'll do it, I promise" Mike said as he rolled over and picked his phone up, punching in a text.

"_Hay Lucy, You and I, we R finished"_

"Mike, you can't send that" Rachel said over looking over his shoulder as he pressed the send button.

"Too late"

…

"Who was that?" Diane asked as she seen Lucy's face fall

"Just someone in my class, I em, I forgot I have homework for tomorrow" Lucy said running out of the room and up to her room, she shut the door firmly and locked it before falling onto her bed and crying.

Diane knew that wasn't it, she knew that Lucy never ever would forget homework, and she had suddenly got very upset at the text, but clearly she wanted to be alone. Diane picked up her phone and called Rachel but wasn't surprised when the phone went straight to voice mail.

"Rachel I need you home just now" Diane said hanging the phone up and heading upstairs, Grace was already in bed, after a good night kiss and tucking her in she was on her way to being asleep. Zach was still up, and his computer was still on "I thought your Mum said no computer after 9pm?"

"Yeah, well she also told Rachel not to go out, and that didn't happen"

"So you want me to have to tell your Mum and Dad that you broke the rules too"

"No, I'll turn it off"

"You look tired, Alicia said you had a late night last night, why don't you have an early night" Diane said as she picked up the laptop, "And I'll take this downstairs with me"

She went back downstairs with the laptop to wait on Rachel coming home.

…

"I had such a good time at dinner" Alicia said "Thank you" she added as she wrapped her arm around Will, the were both just a little tipsy after their meal and a bottle of wine or two,

"Hay, do you remember this place" Will said as they found themselves at the Potomac, it was a little cabin where you could hire boats to take you out onto the River

"How can I forget, Mr I'm a sailor, you capsized and had to get rescued from the middle of the Potomac in January, your lucky you didn't get hypothermia"

"As I remember, you kept me warm that night"

"I remember, my first apartment was just down there, I loved that place, that was the first night we spent together"

"It was a dump Alicia"

"Yes, but it was my dump, I paid for it all myself, we didn't all have wealthy Grandparents to buy us a luxury apartment"

"No, well, we did make good use of that apartment too" Will said causing Alicia to laugh as they stumbled on their walk along the River bank. The evening had turned very cool, but they were enjoying their walk reminiscing about the past.

…..

Rachel looked at her phone to see the time and noticed the missed call and voicemail from her Aunt, she decided now it was time to go, she didn't want to make it back after curfew. She walked downstairs went out and walked home to her house a few blocks away, the fresh air woke her up, she wasn't drunk, she only had one beer and that was a few hours ago. She put her key into the door as quietly as she could, but not quiet enough that Diane didn't hear.

"Where have you been?" Diane shouted her hand falling to her hips

"Out" Rachel replied

"A bit more detail?"

"Out at a party, its not big deal"

"Do you always defy your parents like this?"

"No, just when they make stupid rules" Rachel said walking towards the stairs.

"Rachel, have you been smoking pot?" Diane asked getting a whiff from her niece

"No, why would you ask that?"

"Because you stink of it"

"I wasn't but some other people at the party were"

"Rachel, promise me you weren't"

"I wasn't"

"Good, because if I ever find out you have been it won't be your Mum and Dad that you'll need to worry about, do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes"

"Get to bed, you need to be up for school early tomorrow, and don't even think about going anywhere after School, your Grounded until your parents get back"

"What, you can't ground me"

"When your parents aren't here I can, do you think your parents would disagree?"

"No, I guess not"

"Bed now" Diane said as she went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. It had only been one night, but she had no idea how Will and Alicia did it, she was exhausted.

**OK, so this is my longest chapter by far, **

** I could have kept going, but its too late now, so I will try my hardest to get another update tomorrow or Sunday.**


	31. Lucy gets revenge

**Thank you for your reviews, **

**This chapter is another long one, sorry, I know some people prefer them shorter, but truth be told I could have kept going with this and had another 3000 words out. I will try and get another update in a couple of days.**

It was half an hour after Diane had sent Rachel to bed and she had finished her wine, she walked upstairs and quietly opened the door for Graces room, and was glad to see she was fast asleep; she quietly went into Zach's room to find him sleeping too. The twin's room were on the next floor, she walked quietly up the stairs with Justice at her feet. Grace loved having Justice staying with them too; she really did want a dog and would work on her parents to get one.

Diane opened the door to Rachel's room and was glad to see she was in bed and sleeping, the same couldn't be said for her twin sister. When Diane opened her door she couldn't help but hear the sobs coming from under the cover.

"Lucy, why are you crying, what's wrong?" Diane asked sitting on the bed next to her

"I'm not crying, its allergies" Lucy replied with a sniff. Diane tucked a bit of hair behind her ear and placed a comforting hand on her back.

"If something is upsetting you, I want you to tell me, and I promise, unless I really need to I will not tell your Mum and Dad"

"There is nothing wrong, just this stupid hay-fever"

"OK, well if you need me I'll be in the spare room with Justice, just come and get me"

"I'm fine, Ill just go to sleep"

"OK honey" Diane said kissing her head and going downstairs to get ready for bed

…

"That was great" Alicia said trying to catch her breath as Will shifted off the top of Alicia to the side of her, he pulled her into his chest so their naked bodies were touching.

"It was, I told you I'd get you out of that dress tonight"

"Hmm, you did" Alicia replied as she turned to face him and her mouth meeting his, they stayed like this for a few moments until Will spoke.

"Alicia, have you thought more about another baby" Will said as he pulled away.

"I have, and I just don't think it's a good idea. I mean we are in our 40's by the time another kid goes to college we will be old. As much as I dread the kids going off to college, just think, when Grace leaves home we can go away so much easier, we can have as many afternoon sex sessions as we want"

"That is a good point"

"And besides, is not like we will never have children around our house again. We have 4 kids just give it 15 years and we will have Grand Children crawling about the place"

"That will be nice; I just hope they get children just like them. Especially Rachel. Get our revenge" Will said as Alicia laughed.

"I thought this weekend was meant to be a childfree affair"

"OK, no more talk, more action, time for round 3" Will said as he pushed Alicia back and climbed on top of her.

…..

Lucy hadn't really slept all night, the text she got form Mike just kept going round and round in her head. She was going to reply but she didn't know what to say. She was grateful that Rachel hadn't come to see her like normal, she had heard her and Auntie Diane having a little argument downstairs, she knew she was grounded, and there was no way Auntie Diane wouldn't tell Alicia and Will about what happened. She glanced at her clock and seen it was 6:53am, her alarm would be going off shortly so she got up and went for a shower before Rachel woke up. She got changed into her school uniform and went downstairs to find Diane already up with a cup of coffee in hand.

"Good Morning" Diane said as Justice jumped up onto her lap

"Morning, can I have some coffee?" Lucy asked

"Are you allowed?" Diane asked raising an eyebrow, she thought the kids were a little young for coffee

"Yeah, Dad gave me some last week" she said as she poured some filtered coffee into a cup and added some milk.

"Did you sleep well in the spare room?"

"I did, it was lovely, and did you sleep well?"

"No, I have a sore head, Auntie Diane, can I stay home today?" Lucy asked

"Are you feeling that ill?"

"Well, my head hurts, and I want to sleep"

"I tell you what, why don't you go in for the morning, and if your still not feeling well at recess give me a wee phone and I'll come and get you"

"But I can just stay here on my own and sleep"

"No, I have to go to work this morning, and I can't leave you on your own, so go to school and I promise if your not feeling well in a couple of hours I will come and get you, deal"

"Yes Deal" Lucy replied deflated.

It wasn't long before Zach and Grace were downstairs eating breakfast too, both of them chatting away and fighting over who got the last slice of toast before Diane put more out for them.

It was nearly time to go and Rachel still wasn't downstairs

"Is your sister nearly ready" Diane said to Zach and Grace

"I don't know" they all said in unison.

Diane walked up the stairs to the third floor and knocked on Rachel's door, she was ready for school and just ready to come downstairs

"Auntie Diane, can we maybe not tell Mum and Dad about last night?"

"Nice try, they will be home after dinner and I will be telling them everything, but I need you to look after Lucy today, she isn't feeling so good and something is upsetting her. Do you know what it is?"

"No idea, but I will look after her at school today, I promise." Rachel lied; she knew exactly what was wrong with her sister.

"Auntie Diane we are going to be late for the bus, can you drive us?" Zach asked as he glanced at his watch.

"Mum had to drive us yesterday because Rachel took to long to get ready as well" Grace pointed out.

"OK, everyone in the car, lets go" Diane said as they all got into her car and drove off. First Grace was dropped off and then a trip to the high school"

"Remember Lucy, just call me if you're not feeling well at recess" Diane said as the 3 kids got out of the car.

"Rachel, Zach will you two look after her today?" Diane asked as they both nodded.

"What's up with Lucy anyway?" Zach asked Rachel as they walked to catch up with Lucy.

"I have no idea" Rachel said.

….

"I guess we had better actually do some work today" Alicia said to Will as the 2 of them got ready and left to go to the conference which was being held in the hotel they were staying in.

"Yes, we need to take something back to David Lee, can you imagine if he finds out we just used this as a getaway" Will said.

"I'm going to give Diane a call first and check in on the kids"

"Alicia, don't this is a kids free holiday, now they will be fine, and Diane will be rushing around getting them up and off to school. You know how tough that has been"

"Your right" Alicia said putting her phone back into her bag. "Its only a few hours till we are home, I just have a bad feeling. Call it a motherly instinct."

…..

Lucy was feeling even shyer than usual, she felt as though everyone was looking at her, and the feeing was making her feel very overwhelmed. She moved quickly to homeroom and took her seat at the front corner of the class. She then moved quickly to history where she sat quietly, refusing to lift her hand when questions were asked, and working quickly through her work. Her sister was in neither of these classes, and she felt totally alone.

It was soon recess, and Lucy decided to head outside to call Diane, there was no way she wanted to do this all day, she had no idea why everyone was staring at her, but she just wanted them to stop.

"Hay Lucy, I didn't know you had it in you" Called Kelly, Kelly was a senior, and very popular, Lucy didn't even think she would have known her name.

"I'm sorry, are you talking to me"

"Yes you, I mean it was you who was upstairs with Mike all last night wasn't it"

"Emm, No. I think you are mistaken"

"No, I'm not mistaken, it was you. You went upstairs with Mike; you were in a bedroom for like 2 hours"

Suddenly the penny dropped. It wasn't Lucy who was with Mike last night, it was Rachel. That explained why she had been dumped, and it explained why Rachel had been avoiding her. The anger started to build and Lucy turned around to find her sister. She wasn't one for confrontation, but at the moment she was angry and hurt, and her sister was going to remember the day she hurt her sister.

"I can't believe you" Lucy shouted at Rachel who was standing next to Mike by his locker. "I can't believe both of you, I thought you liked me, and I thought you were my sister" she screamed

"Look Lucy, I didn't mean to" Rachel said calmly trying to calm her sister down

"No, you were jealous because I was happy" Lucy shouted. By now there was a crowd gathered around them.

"No, why would I be jealous of you, its not like you have any friends" Rachel said before immediately regretting it. But, she didn't have much time to think as Lucy pushed her sister who fell backwards into the lockers. Rachel put her arm behind her to catch her, but she fell with all her weight onto the floor.

"Ouch" she shouted as Mrs Murray the head teacher came out.

"What is going on here" she said as she moved over to help Rachel up.

"Lucy shoved her, Miss I think she broke her arm" Mike said.

"Lucy, is this true"

"Yes"

"Well go wait outside my office so I can call your parent. Rachel lets get you to the school nurse"

…

Lucy was sitting outside Mrs Murray's office, she wanted to cry but couldn't find the energy to do that, she had hurt her sister and felt terrible for it.

"Your sister is going off to the hospital" Mrs Murray said as she opened her office door and indicated for Lucy to enter.

"Usually when Siblings fight I try not to intervene, but your sister needs hospital treatment so I have a duty of care to her. I'm afraid I will have to call your parents to pick you up. I will have to suspend you"

"OK" Lucy said worriedly as Mrs Murray called the receptionist to look out Lucy's file for her parent's phone number.

"My Mum and Dad are out of town, my Aunt is staying with us" Lucy said as she took her phone out and gave the teacher Diane's phone number

…..

Diane was sitting in her office when her mobile phone rang, she didn't recognise the number on the screen so answered it quickly.

"Diane Lockhart"

"Ms Lockhart I am the head teacher from Capstone High School, I'm afraid there has been an incident at school. Rachel is at Cook County ER, and I have had to suspend Lucy"

"What is Rachel OK? And suspend Lucy are you sure?"

"Well we suspect she has broken her arm, Can you please go and pick Rachel up and I will also need someone to pick Lucy up from School"

"Thank you" Diane said as she hung the phone up.

Diane immediately called Owen, she had no idea who else she could call, she didn't have a number for Veronica, and Wills family didn't live in Chicago.

"Owen, it's Diane, can you go to Cook County ER and get Rachel, she has hurt her arm at school. I need to go pick Lucy up from School, apparently she is being suspended"

"What Lucy suspended?" Owen asked

"Apparently so"

"OK, I'll go to the hospital and get Rachel" Owen said as he got up from his desk and left.

"David, I need to go" Diane called into David office

"But what about the deposition?"

"I'm sure you can manage by yourself, you're a big boy. But I will be back later to meet with Neil Gross"

Diane took her car keys out of her bag and head down the lift to the car park and onwards to the School.

"Auntie Diane, what are you doing here?" Zach asked as he left Physics and head towards his civic class.

"Looking for Mrs Murray's office?" Diane replied

"It's on the floor below, I'll show you, it's on the way to my next class" he replied "Why are you here though?"

"I have no idea really, apparently Rachel is at the ER, your Uncle Owen is going to pick her up, and I have to come here and pick Lucy up, do you know anything about it?"

"Well I heard something, about 2 sophomores fighting, but didn't know who it was. That's us here, but I better go before I'm late for my next class"

Diane knocked on the door, and the receptionist came out and let her in. Lucy was sitting on the small sofa in the head teacher's office, she had a glass of water in her hand, and although she wasn't crying just now, Diane knew she had been.

"Lucy, Sweetie, what happened?" Diane asked

"Lucy pushed Rachel, who has now fallen over. The 2 girls had an altercation and Lucy has admitted deliberately pushing Rachel, she has also admitted that she is the only person at fault here and that Rachel did not physically hurt Lucy in anyway. I have no choice but to suspend Lucy for one week."

Diane looked over at Lucy, she knew there was something else going on here, Lucy would never do such a thing, not on purpose or without provocation.

"I don't believe for a second that Lucy would do this without provocation"

"Ms Lockhart, Lucy has admitted it. On of our teachers will go with Lucy to her locker to collect her belongings, and Lucy can then start back school next Tuesday morning, after writing a letter of apology to her sister and to the school.

Lucy stood up and walked over to her Aunt. "I'm sorry" she said quietly as she put the glass of water down on the table and followed her Homeroom teacher to her locker.

"Can you please sign this?" Mrs Murray said handing paperwork to Diane, who sat down and started to read.

"You are reading it?" Mrs Murray questioned, most parents would normally just sign and leave.

"Of course I am. I am a lawyer, you don't expect me to just sign, also I want to call Will and Alicia before I sign anything" Diane replied as she finished reading. "I'm going to go outside and make a phone call" Diane said as she called Will's mobile

"Diane, is everything OK?" Will asked

"Not really, Rachel is in ER, don't worry its nothing too serious, Owen has gone to be with her, the school think she may have broke her arm"

"What, is she OK?" Will asked

"What's going on?" Alicia asked impatiently only hearing one side of the call.

"Rachel's in ER with a suspected broken arm" Will whispered to his wife.

"As far as I know that's it, she got into an altercation with Lucy"

"Lucy?" Will questioned

"Yes, the school has suspended her, they have asked me to sign paperwork, it looks pretty basic, but it states this will stay on her permanent record, do you want me to sign it"

"Can you ask them to just take her home tonight, and tomorrow I will go in and talk to them, tell them both they are grounded until we get home. It's not like Lucy to get into an altercation"

"No, but she has admitted it, confessed that the whole thing is her fault"

"We will talk to her tonight, we should be home around 7pm, I'll see if we can check into an earlier flight"

"Thanks Will, look I need to go, Lucy is coming back from her locker, see you both tonight"

"Will are you going to tell me what that was about?" Alicia asked impatiently. Will relayed the information to Alicia who also thought this was odd behaviour for Lucy.

"Mrs Murray, I can't sign this. I have spoken to Will and he has asked that he can come in tomorrow to discuss with you"

"OK, I will set aside some time for Mr Gardner tomorrow, but if you could take Lucy home just now please"

"Lucy lets, get out of here" Diane stated as she put her arm around her God daughter and they walked in silence to the car. Once in the car, Diane turned to Lucy who was sitting in silence again, with her eyes down on the floor. "Lucy what really happened?"

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "It's just like I told them, I got so mad at her and pushed her. Is she going to be OK?"

"I don't know, Uncle Owen is with her. Look lets go back to my office, I have meetings I have to go to this afternoon, and I can't leave you alone, but Lucy I need you to tell me what really happened."

"I just told you, why won't you believe me"

"I do believe you. I'm just a little surprised as this isn't like you. And I want to make sure that there isn't another reason for this.

"Can we just go please" Lucy said as she walked out of the office towards the car with Diane following on.

**So, the twins are now at loggerheads. This is loosely based on a true story, my friends older sisters are twins and this is what happened between then 17 years ago. They still to this day will not talk to one another, hopefully Alicia and Will with Dianes help can sort Rachel and Lucy out so stop that from happening here**


	32. Twin Trouble

"Those Doctors were pretty cute" Owen said to Rachel as they left the ER "What were their names again?"

"Uncle Owen, your not going to go ask them out are you?"

"No, I'm pretty sure they were straight, although the older one looks like one of your Mum's Ex boyfriends, Doug Ross. I swear I thought they would get together"

"That Doctor was called Dr Ross. Do you think he was Mums old boyfriend?" Rachel asked

"I think he may have been, what was the young one called?"

"Doctor Carter" Rachel replied

"I think he was too young for me anyway" Owen said sadly as they got into the car.

"So, I spoke to Diane when you were in X-ray and she asked me to bring you to her at the office"

"I hope Lucy isn't there, she went totally off on one at me, it was like she was possessed"

"I think you and Lucy just need to talk things through, clearly Lucy was angry for a reason. Do you not know anything about it?"

"No, I was just minding my own business and she shoved me into my locker"

"Well, at least your arm is not broken, you heard what that yummy Dr Carter said, It will heal in a few days on its own, It is just a mild sprain."

"Yeah I know, I don't even get some time off school" Rachel moaned.

…..

Lucy was sitting in Diane's office; so far she had said nothing about what happened, despite Diane asking questions. Eventually Diane realised the softly questioning approach wasn't getting her anywhere.

"Lucy, my client is here, I am going to meet him in your Mother's office, and when I come back, I want some answers. Do you understand?"

Lucy nodded her head slowly

"Good, and your Parents said to tell you that both you and Rachel are grounded, at least until they are back". Diane said as she got up and walked to Alicia's office where she would meet Neil.

"Mr Gross, so glad you could make it" Diane said as she extended her hand to meet his.

"Are you getting some work done on your office?" Neil questioned

"Not quiet, Will and Alicia have gone off to a conference in D.C. And I offered to babysit their kids. I've just been to pick one of the twins up from school as she was unwell and she is in my office jus now"

"4 kids, I bet you will be glad when they get home"

"Your right, I actually don't know how they do it. Getting them all up and off to school this morning was like a military operation" Diane said and Neil laughed before the topic changed to work.

Diane and Neil were just finished with their business, and had agreed a new business deal that would bring more work to Lockhart, Gardner and Gardner. Neil liked the family feel to this firm, and that was one of the reasons he kept his business here.

Diane's phone suddenly stared to ring, just as Neil had left. She looked at the display and sent that it was Owen.

"Hi Owen, how is Rachel?" Diane asked

"It's just a mild sprain; she will be fine in a couple of days. We are on our way in"

"Thank God, I was so worried she was hurt, see you soon"

Diane walked to her office to find Lucy still sitting in the exact same position she was in when Diane left.

"Lucy, Uncle Owen called, Rachel is fine. She has just sprained her wrist, but we still need to talk"

"She is going to be OK" Lucy said quietly

"Yes, she will be fine. Uncle Owen is on his way in with Rachel, so we can sort this thing out"

Lucy didn't say anything, but continued to sit in silence

"Please Lucy, will you just talk to me"

"I don't have anything to say"

"They should be back in 10 minutes, so you better think of something to say" Diane replied as she sat went out side to call Will and Alicia.

…

Will and Alicia were at the hotel, they were packing their things so they could get to the airport to see if they could get on an earlier flight when Diane called Alicia's phone.

"Diane, is everything OK?" Alicia asked impatiently

"Owen is on his way back with Rachel, she hasn't broken anything. It is just a sprain to her wrist. Lucy is sitting in my office, but she is refusing to talk to me"

"That is not like her. Diane, can you put me on to her please?" Alicia asked. Diane walked back into her office.

"Lucy, your Mum would like to talk to you" she said passing her the phone.

"Hi Lucy, what is going on?" Alicia asked

"I didn't mean to hurt her" Lucy replied

"I'm sure you didn't, but why won't you talk to Diane?"

"Because I have nothing to say. I know it was wrong"

"Well Dad and I will be home as soon as we can, and until then you do exactly as Diane asks, and you answer any of her questions. Do you understand?"

"Yes Mum, I understand"

"OK baby, I will see you in a few hours, bye" Alicia said as Lucy handed the phone back to Diane.

Diane went outside to continue speaking to Alicia and Lucy picked up her Iphone, she hit the button for the facebook app and opened it up to see lots of notifications. She opened them up to find loads of comments about what had happened earlier. Kelly the girl who spoke to her earlier had left comments. Most of them weren't nice, they were calling her vicious, and lots of girls saying they would get beat her up for hurting Rachel. She didn't even recognise half of these kids. She wanted to delete them, but there were so many, there was no way she would be able to get rid of them. She suddenly saw a comment from Mike. "Lucy is such a slag, Was at it all night with her last night". She went to the comment button and quickly started to type a response, but didn't know how to word it. Instead she closed the phone down and started to cry.

….

"Rachel sweetie, how are you" Diane asked pulling Rachel into a tight hug but being careful of her wrist

"I'll survive"

"Have you any idea why Lucy would do that?" Diane asked

"Nope, she just flipped" Rachel said before going into her Mums office and sitting on the sofa.

"Has she explained anything to you yet?" Owen asked

"Nope, not a thing, she won't talk to me" Diane replied

"I'll have a go, see if I can get anything from her" Owen said as he walked through to Diane's office

"Hay Toots" Owen said as he walked over to his niece was sitting on the sofa with her back to him

"Lucy, what's with all the tears?"

"I don't want to talk about it" Lucy replied through tears as Owen rubbed her back

"Are you sure, because I'm a pretty good listener"

"Uncle Owen, do you think I could move school"

"Well now why would you want to do that?"

"Because I hate my school and all the stupid people at it"

"Well you know, the kids at other schools will probably be just as stupid. But if you really want to move school then you will need to talk to your Mum and Dad. And I think they will want a better reason"

"How about you and I go out somewhere? Just the 2 of us."

"I'm grounded and I don't really feel like going out, I just want to be on my own"

"OK, well if you need me just give me a call" Owen replied and left Lucy alone.

"So, did she talk" Diane asked Owen. Diane was sitting in Alicia's office with Rachel who was taking great delight in describing exactly how hard Lucy has pushed her. Diane got up and walked out of the office closing the door behind her so Rachel couldn't hear.

"She is sad Diane, I don't know why, all I got was she wants to move to another school because the kids at her school are all stupid"

"I think something happened last night, she got a text and suddenly everything changed, she went upstairs and was crying"

"I don't know, but Rachel clearly knows more than she is letting on. She wasn't giving me any details at the hospital. Diane, I'm really sorry to run out on you, but I have lecture to give in half an hour".

"Thanks Owen for your help" Diane said placing a hand on his arm.

…..

"What do you think is going on with the girls?" Alicia asked Will as she had a sip of coffee in the airport lounge.

"I have no idea, but I don't think Rachel is innocent in all of this, acting out in violence is not Lucy's usual M.O"

"They are usually so close. But recently it's like they are growing further apart"

"They are getting older, and growing more different every day" Will replied. When they were younger they both liked similar things. Things most little girls liked for instance Dolls, dressing up. Poor Zach used to be forced to play in there games and would often be sporting a girl's hat or dress that he had been forced into by his sisters. But, as they grew their interests changed. Lucy became more serious, she enjoyed reading, school and music where as Rachel became more interested in fashion, art, and boys.

"Do you remember when they were little they used to spend hours playing, and then there would be an argument over a doll, or a dress" Alicia said

"I remember, my all time favourite was when Rachel had a tantrum because she couldn't get rid of her shadow, she wanted Lucy to take it away" Will laughed

"Oh I remember that, that tantrum lasted for hours" Alicia agreed as she joined in laughing. "I just really hope we can get them sorted"

"Don't worry Alicia, we will.

…

"Rachel, come with me please" Diane requested as she walked out of Alicia's office and into her own.

"Sit down" please she indicated to the sofa next to Lucy

"Look, I know what your going to try, your going to try and make us friends, get us to talk out our feelings, but it won't work. She hurt me, look what she did. I don't want to see or speak to her ever again" Rachel shouted as she walked out the office and slammed the door loudly behind her. It was so loud even David Lee heard from his office and came out to see what the drama was.

"Auntie Diane, can we go home soon?" Lucy asked

"Yes, I think that's best, your Mum and Dad shouldn't be too long. I just have a few things to finish up here, I'm sorry; it can't be very fun for you"

Lucy returned to staring out of the window, as Diane left the office to find Rachel flirting with Cary Agos

"Rachel, can you please let Mr Agos get back to work" Diane said as she put her hands on Rachel's shoulders and guided her away from Cary towards her mother's office.

"Can you try and give your sister a break please?" Diane asked

"Why should I, look what she has done to me"

"Oh please, it's a sprain, you have done far worse to Lucy, and need I remind you of the hockey stick incident"

"I was eleven for God Sake" Rachel shouted

"Don't raise your voice to me" Diane said quietly but with an air of authority. "I think you are in enough trouble after last night, now I have asked you to be nice to your sister and I expect you to do it. I will ask Lucy to apologise, and when she does you are to accept it gracefully and maturely. Do you understand?"

"You can't make me forgive her"

"If you know what is good for you, then you will do exactly as I say" Diane warned as she left to go speak to Lucy.

"Lucy, look at me sweetie" Diane said as she sat on the sofa next to her, "I'm going to bring your sister in, and I want you to apologise to her, and then hopefully we can put an end to this sorry affair"

"OK"

Diane left to go and get Rachel and brought her in to the office

"Rach, I'm sorry I hurt you" Lucy said without moving from the seat

"Look, let's just forget about it, but don't think we are going to be friends, just stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours" Rachel said.

Lucy nodded "OK"

"Right, lets you two home, you must be starving, I know I am"

**OK, so who noticed the joke in this chapter?**

**This chapter is a little shorter, hoping to find a happy medium.**


	33. Twin Trouble 2

**Thank you for your Reviews, I couldn't resist the little ER joke.**

In next to no time arrived home, the drive had been silent, Lucy was in the back of the car sitting silently, she couldn't bring herself to look at her phone, she had felt her phone vibrate a few times so she knew there were notifications or text messages.

Rachel walked into the living room and flopped onto the couch, as Lucy went straight upstairs. She didn't go into her room; instead she went straight into the attic. The attic had a stairway into it, it was a large dark space, but there was a window seat which looked down onto the street. The window was stained glass to go with the period of the old house.

She sat by the window seat, and looked at her phone; there were even more comments, and even one from Rachel who had posted "Just out of ER, Got a sprained wrist thanks to my so called sister, she's a bitch". This status had lots of comments below it and Lucy was tagged in it. Lucy brought her legs up to her chest and stared out of the window as she threw her phone to the floor, she wasn't paying any notice to anything outside, just staring into a void.

Diane went to the kitchen and made sandwiches for the 3 of them, it was 2pm now, and they hadn't eaten yet, she put the plates onto the kitchen table and called the girls in. Rachel came out of the family room, and sat next to Diane and started to eat her sandwich. Diane called Lucy again before sitting down and eating her own sandwich.

"The doctor gave me pain killers, I have to take them after eating" Rachel said

"OK, well take them after your sandwich, then I will go and see Lucy. The two of you really need to sort this out"

"I don't want to talk to her"

"Rachel, you only have one twin sister, the 2 of you really need to sort this out. Your parents should be home soon, and they are going to insist on answers"

"Well, they need to ask Lucy, I don't know anything" Rachel said as she picked her plate up and put it into the dishwasher.

Diane finished her lunch and took Lucy's sandwich and a can of coke from the fridge. She carried them upstairs to Lucy's room, but couldn't find her there. She checked the rest of the house, but couldn't find her anywhere.

"Rachel, I can't find Lucy" Diane called as she ran back downstairs and into the living room

"Maybe she went out"

"Do you have any idea where she is?"

"No, she will be out somewhere"

"OK, well if you think of where she is, can you tell me" Diane got up and walked out to the other room, she glanced at her watch, it was after 3pm now Grace would be out of school and Katie was bringing her home as normal. Zach still had another half an hour in class before she would be able to speak to him, Grace didn't have a phone yet, so she had to phone Katie.

"Hi Katie, its Diane, have you picked Grace up yet?"

"She is just on her way to the car; I can see her walking towards me"

"Can I speak to her please, it's important"

"Yes, is everything OK?"

"Not really, Lucy and Rachel have fallen out, and it's not the typical teenage fallout. I could have sworn Lucy went upstairs, but I have searched the house and not been able to find her"

"Have you tried that attic? When she was younger that was where she always went if she was upset. She would sit on the window seat and read"

"No, I'll try there" Diane said as she walked up the stairs to the attic. She opened the door a little and could see Lucy sitting by the window where Katie said she would be.

"She is here, Thank You Katie" Diane said, she ended the call, and walked into the attic.

"Lucy, I made you a sandwich, you haven't eaten all day, come downstairs with me please to eat it"

"I'm not hungry" Lucy said between sniffs, her phone was sitting on the floor vibrated loudly.

"You haven't eaten since breakfast" Diane said to a wall of silence, she sat down on the window seat and stroked Lucy's hair and placed a loose strand behind her ear "Why don't we go downstairs, we can do something fun, maybe listen to music, or watch a film"

"No Thanks" Lucy replied as her phone vibrated again.

"Are you not going to check that?" Diane said as Lucy shook her head.

"Is there anything you want to show me on your phone?"

"No, it's just Candy Crush, that's all"

"Is there anything I can do, I don't like seeing you like this"

"I just want my Dad, can you tell him to come up when he gets home"

"I can do that, I'll go downstairs if you need me, just come and get me" Diane said, Lucy nodded and went back to staring out of the window.

…

Katie parked her car behind Diane's Porche and followed Grace into the house.

"I'm home Auntie Diane" Grace shouted as Justice ran to her and jumped upon her impatiently and excitedly.

"Hi Sweetie, did you have a good day at school?"

"It was OK; can I take Justice out to the back garden?"

"Can you do your homework first?"

"Ok" Grace replied deflated, she walked into the living room to find Rachel watching MTV.

"What happened to you?" Grace asked her sister.

"Lucy totally flipped, she shoved me into my locker, I had to go to ER"

"Why did she do that?"

"I don't know Grace, but I'm not talking to her again" Rachel said

"Well I won't talk to her either" Grace said. Grace always wanted to be involved in what her sisters were doing, and a lot of the time they shunned her. On the odd occasions when they fell out she would always side with Rachel who would give all her attention to her little sister and ignore Lucy. It never really happened that often, on the odd occasion that it did happen Rachel would get fed up with Grace quickly as she would cling to her sister, but this time they were all slightly older and Grace a little wiser,

"Good, she deserves it" Rachel replied.

…

Zach turned his phone on as he got onto the school bus, he took his usual seat and looked around for Sophia who had came on a few seconds later.

"What happened with your sisters?" Sophia asked as she sat next to him.

"I don't know, everyone is saying that Lucy pushed Rachel and she sprained her wrist, but Lucy is so calm she would never do that"

Zach opened up facebook on his phone and immediately saw lots of posts on his sister's wall. He was shocked by what he was seeing, and called Lucy straight away, her phone rang, but she never picked up. He was worried and tried a few times

Zach got home; he walked into the family room where Rachel and Grace were watching TV

"What's been going on with you and Lucy?" Zach asked

"She pushed me into my locker" Rachel replied

"But why?"

"Who knows" Rachel replied

"Have you seen facebook?"

"Yeah, so she deserves it"

"No she doesn't, how can you be so callous?" Zach shouted

"Callous, have you swallowed a dictionary" Rachel said as Grace laughed. Zach sighed as Diane came into the living room.

"What is the commotion in here?" She asked

"Nothing" Grace replied sweetly.

"No, it's not nothing" Zach said as he took his phone from his pocket.

"Zach, don't" Rachel said hurriedly as she jumped up and tried to take Zachs phone with her good arm, but Zach was much taller and managed to keep it away.

"No, you are being so cruel, everyone is being horrible to Lucy, her facebook is jam-packed of people being horrible to her" Zach said as he gave Diane his phone.

"Rachel, did you know about this"

"I seen a couple of comments" she replied timidly.

"How could you be so heartless" Diane shouted, just as Will and Alicia walked in.

"What is going on?" Will asked as he looked from Rachel to Diane.

"Grace, Zach, can you please go get our luggage from the car?" Alicia asked.

"Why are you all picking on me, I'm the innocent party here"

"Will, Lucy is in the attic, she asked for you to go up as soon as you're in, she hasn't eaten since Breakfast, but before that I think you need to look at Lucy's facebook page." Diane said handing Zach's phone to Will and Alicia.

"It's not my fault what other people say" Rachel argued.

"No, but you could have stood up for her" Diane said as Alicia scrolled though Lucy's facebook wall

"Rachel, you made a comment" Alicia stated

"Yes, but…"

"I don't want to hear any buts" Will replied as Alicia showed him the comment, "delete the comment, post a retraction and then cancel your account, you clearly are not responsible enough to have facebook"

"What, Dad that's not fair"

"End of discussion Rachel, I'm going to get Lucy something to eat and go up to see her"

…

"Hay pumpkin" Will opened the door and walked over to the seat Lucy was sitting in, she hadn't moved since she came home. "I've brought you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I want you to eat it" he said placing the sandwich on the window ledge next to Lucy with a bottle of water next to it.

"I'm not hungry" Lucy sank into Wills chest as he put his arms around her

"Auntie Diane said you haven't eaten since breakfast"

"Daddy, I want to change school" Lucy said. Will knew something was really wrong when Diane had said Lucy had asked for him and not Alicia. When she was younger Lucy stuck to Will like glue if Rachel wasn't around. She hadn't called him Daddy either, in at least 8 years.

"We can talk about that later, but tomorrow I need to go to your school and before I do that I need to print off all those comments on your facebook page"

"I don't want you to, Dad can we just forget about it please, I just want to be on my own"

"You have been on your own all day; I want you to come downstairs. You don't have to worry, your Mum and I are both here and no one is going to upset you"

"Are you sure, Rachel's done a pretty good job of that so far"

"What is going on with the 2 of you?"

"Dad, promise me you won't be angry?"

"I will try my best, but you know I will always love you no matter what"

"I know Dad; this is just really hard to talk about"

"Well, if you would rather speak to Mum, I can go get her"

"No, I lied to her. She asked me if I had boyfriend and I said no, but I did"

"You had a boyfriend" Will said in surprise.

"Yeah, he was the guy that took us home from the party that I got drunk at, but last night Rachel went to a party, and she kissed him, She was supposed to be my sister, but sisters don't do that to each other and I just got so angry with her and pushed her when I found out, I'm sorry Dad, I just got angry and now Rachel is hurt"

"Well, you don't need to worry, Rachel will be fine in a few days, it's just a sprain, and I'm more worried about you"

"But, I'm not hurt"

"Not physically, but that doesn't mean your not hurting. Why don't you eat your sandwich, we haven't made dinner yet so I think we will just be ordering takeaway in a couple of hours"

"I don't want to go downstairs yet"

"You don't have to, how about we just sit up here for a little while and you eat up" Will said whilst rubbing Lucy's back to reassure her.

…..

"Go into the dining room please, we need to talk" Alicia said to Rachel who was slouched on the couch as Grace and Zach came back into the house with their parent's cases.

"Can I go play with Justice in the garden now?" Grace asked as she came back through to the family room.

"I think maybe it's time for Justice and I to go home Grace" Diane said "Alicia, if you need me give me a call" Diane walked towards the door and picked up her.

"Thanks Diane for everything, we really owe you one"

"Zach, Grace, can you do your homework. Rachel, dining room please" Alicia walked into the Dining room, followed by her daughter who sighed as she sat at the large table.

"Rachel is in so much trouble" Zach said to Grace

"Why? It's not her fault that Lucy pushed her"

"Your so naive Grace, you don't think Lucy pushed Rachel for nothing"

"I don't care, Rachel isn't speaking to Lucy, and so neither am I"

"Don't be a sheep Grace" Zach said before going up to his room to start his homework.

**I'm not happy with this chapter, but after re-reading it a few times and making a few changes I thought I would just post it. I think I'm trying to over analyse it now.**

**Please Review**


	34. Taking Sides

**Thank you for your kind reviews. This is quiet a short chapter, We have all been a little sick here the past few days and sick children mean a tired Mummy. I will try and get another chapter up before the weekend, and then it may be a little slow after the weekend as we are off on Holiday for 3 weeks ****J**

Rachel was sitting in the Dining room, Alicia had left as Diane had called, something had come up with one of Alicia's clients (Mr Sweeny), but Diane has promised to handle it for her knowing Alicia would be a little busy with the family just now and into tonight.

"Diane, did anything else happen last night with the kids?"

"Yes, I meant to say before I left, but with all the commotion I forgot. Rachel snuck out to a party; Grace was trying to cover for her. It seems that from what I gathered Rachel has something over Grace. Before I found out Lucy tried to help by pretending to be Rachel. And when Rach got home I could smell marijuana off her, she swore it wasn't her and I tend to believe her"

"Was Zach in on this?"

"I think so, but he spent most of the night in his room playing on his laptop"

"Was he off it before 9pm?"

"No, not quiet, but not far off it"

"Thanks Diane, for everything"

Rachel left to go back into the dining room.

"Rach, can you please make amends with your sister. She is really upset, and you know Lucy is really sensitive"

"What about me, all you ever care about is Lucy, it's not my fault she is such a cry baby"

"You know that's not true, your father and I love you all equally, but You and Lucy are not the same person. And this is really serious, these comments on facebook are abuse, and if it continues the police will be contacted so I suggest that you keep out of it"

"I don't have any choice; you made me delete my facebook"

"Rachel is there anything else you want to tell, because I promise you, your father and I will get to the bottom of this"

"No"

"OK Darling, but this isn't over yet, we will discuss it further tonight, I want you to have a good think if there is anything you want to tell us and we will talk after dinner"

"Whatever, I'm going out to the garden" Rachel got up and walked out of the house and out to the garden. She sat on one of the loungers by the pool, placed her ear phones into her ear and put her music on.

Alicia walked upstairs to the attic, she hadn't seen Lucy yet since she got home. She opened the door to find Lucy sitting next to Will with her head resting on his chest. Will had his arms tight around her holding her tight.

"Hi Darling" Alicia came through into the room and crouched down next to her daughter and husband, "Can I get a cuddle?" Alicia asked. Lucy moved out of her fathers grip and hugged her Mum.

"Mum, I want to go to a different school" Lucy said

"Oh Sweetie, this will all blow over, lets just give it some time, but if you really want to change school in a few weeks then we can discuss it, is that a deal"

"I guess, but Rach hates me now"

"She's just got herself in a tizz, you know how she gets, exaggerates and creates everything into a big drama. We can all talk after dinner, now I need you to go downstairs and get washed up for dinner, and I need to borrow Dad for a while"

"Mum, can't I just stay up here?"

"No, go downstairs and get washed up, I promise you'll feel better once you've washed your face and come down to eat" Alicia said firmly. "Come on, up you get"

"Lucy, can you give me your phone please, and I don't want you logging onto your computer, do you understand" Will said

"I understand"

Lucy slowly stood up, passed her phone to her father and walked out to go down to her room as Alicia took her place on the window seat next to Will.

"What is going on?" Alicia asked Will when Lucy was out of site

"She had admitted that she had a boyfriend"

"What, she lied, I asked her outright and she told me she didn't"

"I know, but she was scared, she wasn't ready to tell anyone yet. She didn't know how she felt about him and didn't want to voice it yet, she thought we would be angry or disappointed"

"I would never be disappointed" Alicia said looking hurt, "she has a boyfriend, what else?"

"No Alicia, she had a boyfriend, he dumped her last night, but today when she got to school everyone was talking about how she had slept with him last night at a party, but she was adamant she was here all last night watching frozen"

"She was here last night, but Rachel wasn't. I was talking to Diane, It seems Rachel snuck out to a party and Grace covered for her. From what Diane said, Rachel has something on Grace, but what I don't know and to top it off, Diane thought she could smell pot off Rachel, but obviously Rachel said she hadn't touched drugs."

"Well that would explain why Lucy was annoyed, we need to have a serious talk with Rachel, I mean boys and drugs, what is going on in her head."

"Yes we do, but let me first chair on this one" Alicia said raising her eyes as Will let out a laugh. "I mean it Will, this is delicate, we need to approach it correctly, also we need to find out what is going on between Rachel and Grace, and Zach with his computer"

"Alicia, relax and take a deep breath, one step at a time, now how about you go take a peaceful shower, Ill go sort dinner, and then after dinner we can have a family meeting" Will placed his hands on Alicia's shoulders and pulled him towards her.

"Sounds like a plan" Alicia smiled back.

…

Lucy was in her room, she had went for a shower and changed into her jeans and a sweater and sat on her bed trying to concentrate on reading a book when she heard a knock at her door.

"Go away" Lucy shouted thinking it was one of her parents

"Lucy, its Zach"

"Oh, come in" she replied back as she sat up from her bed.

"Are you OK?" Zach asked sitting next to his sister

"Not really, everyone is talking about me, my twin sister hates me and now everyone at school believes I'm a psycho slut"

"We know that not true, you know what that school is like, everyone gossips and then a few days later it's forgotten about"

"It's all over the internet; Dad wants to talk to the school tomorrow, no one is going to forget it"

"Please, just try and ignore them, and I promise I will stick by you no matter what"

"Thank you Zach" Lucy replied smiling, she was glad of the support from her brother.

…

"I've finished my homework" Grace shouted as she ran through the kitchen towards the garden where Rachel was still sitting.

"Grace, before you go out can you sit down"

"What's wrong Dad?" Grace asked whilst sitting at the kitchen table

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" Will asked softly

"No, why would there be?"

"I don't know, you tell me?"

"I'm good Dad, nothing to talk about, other than I would really like a dog"

Will laughed "Well you know what they say, God loves a Trier, but no, you are not getting a dog"

"Can I go to the garden then?"

"Off you go" Will said, he had called their local Chinese takeaway restaurant for dinner and was waiting on delivery.

"Hay Rachel" Grace said as she sat on the lounger next to her older sister

"What's going on in the house?" Rachel asked

"Not much, Dad is in the kitchen sorting dinner, and by sorting I mean over the phone. Mum is in the shower, and Zach has gone up to see Lucy"

"He has taken her side" Rachel said with disgust

"Yeah, but you have me"

"Thanks Grace"

"Dad was asking if there was anything I wanted to tell him" Grace said

"He is fishing Grace, don't tell him anything"

"I didn't, I swear"

"Good" Rachel said handing her sister the other earphone so they could listen to music together.


	35. Everyone is in trouble

**Sorry it's been so long, I have been on holiday and Glasgow where I live is hosting the 20****th**** Commonwealth Games, its like the Olympics, but with Countries from the commonwealth, we have been busy going to Rugby 7s, Athletics, Swimming and Gymnastics, even seen Scotland get some medals.**

Zach had left Lucy's room and was in his own sitting on his laptop talking to Sophia on facebook chat, they had been discussing what had happened earlier with his sisters.

Lucy was lying on her bed reading and listening to her iPod, she was trying to block out what had happened that day, but she couldn't no matter how hard she tried. Lucy's bedroom was always neat and tidy with everything in it's place. She and Rachel had the largest bedrooms in the house behind the Master Bedroom which her parent's occupied. Rachel's room was slightly larger with a large built in wardrobe. There was a bathroom between their rooms which was shared. Lucy's room had dark wooden furniture with purple furnishings. Rachel on the other hand had light pine furniture with bright pink and orange furnishings. Unlike her sisters room it could not be said that Rachel's room was neat and tidy, in fact much the opposite. There were usually clothes strewn across the floor, hair straightners on the floor and make up all over the desk. It used to annoy Alicia and she would have constant battles with Rachel in regards to her bedroom, but she had given up on that a long time ago.

Rachel and Grace were still outside listening to music when Alicia came out to let them know that dinner had arrived. Will ran upstairs to let Lucy and Zach know, it wasn't long before the entire family were sitting downstairs eating.

"Mum, what is that bling on your finger?" Rachel shouted whilst grabbing Alicia's hand to have a closer look.

"Your Father gave it to me, we were going to tell you all as soon as we got home, but we got waylaid" Alicia took her hand back from Rachel and looked around to her other children and then to Will. "Your Father asked me to marry him again" Alicia smiled; anyone who witnessed her would be able to see the love she had for her husband.

"I don't get it, are you going to get a divorce first?" Grace asked in confusion.

"No honey, its just way of renewing our vows to each other" Alicia said.

"It's a bit like when you were a girl scout, you made your promise when you were a daisy, and then you had to do it again when you were a brownie. I asked your Mum to marry me again so that we can show everyone, including you and your brother and sister how much we love each other" Will said.

"Do I get to be a bridesmaid?" Grace asked expectantly

"Yes, I have 3 beautiful daughters, of course you all get to be Bridesmaids" Alicia replied

"Rachel, we are going to have so much fun, can we go get dresses this weekend"

"Wow, slow down Grace, we are not going dress shopping this weekend, we haven't even set a date yet" Will said

"But Rachel will do my make up, won't you Rach?"

"Yeah sure" Rachel said as she glared as Lucy at the other side of the table. Lucy looked away from Rachel, not fixing her eyes on anyone else, but just focusing on her food. She glanced over at the crackers at the other side of the table.

"Grace can you pass the crackers please?" Lucy asked politely

"Did anyone else hear something" Grace said and laughed looking towards Rachel for approval.

"Here you go" Zach said extending his arm over the table and passing the crackers to Lucy who replied with a quiet "Thank you"

"Grace, apologies and go to your room" Will said angrily

Grace looked back to Rachel for her to stand up for her, but Rachel didn't say anything, there wasn't anything she could say.

"But, I didn't do anything" Grace replied

Alicia raised an eyebrow at her daughter who got up and stormed upstairs without a word.

….

Dinner was soon over; it had been a quiet affair after Grace had left. The kids had all dispersed to do their own thing for a while. Will and Alicia wanted to talk to them all together as a family, but first they wanted to discuss how they were going to approach this and make sure they were both on the same page.

"So you are agreed, they all deserve to be grounded" Alicia said to Will. She handed him the plates from the dishwasher as he started to put them away.

"Yes, they all covered for Rachel when she snuck out, and Zach didn't come off his computer by 9pm. Grace was just rude to Lucy at dinner as well and I won't have it. Lucy knows she has done something wrong, but she assaulted her sister and no matter what the provocation she should be grounded, and Rachel, well where do we start" Will replied.

"I just hope that Rachel and Lucy sort out whatever is going on between them, I don't like it when they don't talk"

"I know, Lucy is really hurting"

"One way to make them all closer is give them a mutual enemy, If we punish them all, hopefully it will force them closer together as well" Alicia sad after placing the last of the plates from the dishwasher into the cupboard.

"That may work, or maybe push them further, I don't like the way they are taking sides at the moment, particularly Grace, I don't want her learning Rachel's bad habits. Lets just get them all downstairs and see what they have to say before we decide on how long they are all grounded for" Will said as he made his way to the family room with Alicia behind him who called upstairs for the children to come down and to bring their laptops, phones and Ipads with them.

…..

"I trust you all know why you're here?" Will asked his children who all nodded except Grace

"Grace, you don't know?" Alicia asked clearly annoyed at her youngest daughter. Will and Alicia had agreed that they were going to come down hard on all their children, they felt very disappointed in their behaviour last night, not even taking into account what had happened today.

"I didn't do anything wrong" she said truly believing that she had no part to play in the chaos that had reigned over them whilst their parents had been out of town.

Lucy sat on an armchair away from her sisters who occupied the huge couch with Zach sitting on the edge. Alicia was on the other armchair with Will perched on the arm.

"So, you didn't cover for Rachel when she snuck out to a party last night?" Will asked

"You know about that?" Grace asked

"Oh yes, we know, you don't think Auntie Diane didn't tell us all about last night" Alicia replied whilst eying Rachel. "So, does anyone want to tell us what happened last night?"

"If you know everything why do you want us to tell you?" Rachel asked

"We were giving you a chance to explain yourselves, but if you don't then I assume everything Aunt Diane told us is true" Will explained "Lucy, what do you have to say" he added whilst looking across to the loan figure sitting in the arm chair

"I didn't mean for anything to happen, I just wanted to go to the movies with Mike and he said not tonight so I offered to switch places with Rachel so she could go out, it's all my fault" Lucy blurted, in a hope that taking the blame would get her sisters to stop freezing her out.

"That isn't true, Diane said that it was Grace who covered, and you just stepped in when Diane asked to see Rachel, isn't that correct Grace?" Alicia asked

"Yes, but only after Auntie Diane caught them trying to switch, she made Rachel try and play Piano as she knew she wasn't Lucy"

"I see, so after you got caught trying to do a switch, you then snuck out, this time using Grace to cover for you" Will said

"Yes" Grace and Rachel said quietly

"And Zach, you knew all about this?" Alicia questioned

"Not at first, Grace asked me to help, so I did, and then when Aunt Diane asked for Rachel we got Lucy to do a switch, but Auntie Diane saw right through it"

"Well Rachel, I hope you are proud of yourself, you have just got your Brothers and sisters grounded for 2 days" Alicia said

"But, Mum, that's not fair," Zach complained "Rachel should be the one being punished, not us"

"Oh don't worry, we are not nearly finished with Rachel" Alicia replied.

"Or the rest of you for that matter, I just need to take this call" Will said as his phone vibrated in his hand.

"Mum, I was supposed to be meeting Sophia's parents on Thursday night at dinner" Zach said

"Well, you will need to call and cancel"

"But I am trying to give him a good impression of me, phoning to say I'm grounded won't do that"

"Well think of something, you are not going and that is final"

"But…."

"Zach, did you just hear what your mother said, that is the end of discussion unless you want another 2 days added" Will replied as he came back into the room. "So, where were we?" He added.

"Grace, you need to apologies to Lucy for tonight at dinner, and if you even dare say you don't know what you did, you will be grounded until after summer break" Alicia replied

"Sorry Lucy" Grace said through gritted teeth with earned her a glare from both Parents who were less than impressed.

"Grace, you can have another 2 days, that now 4 days you are grounded for" Will replied

"But why," she whined back

"Because, apologising is not your punishment for what you done and I did not like the tone to your voice there, now we have finished with you, so you can go upstairs, have a shower and get ready for bed, and straight to bed, unless there is anything else you want to add? " Alicia said as she shifted to look at Lucy who was clearly upset.

"No I have nothing else to add, goodnight" Grace said as she got up from the couch and went to the door without so much as a goodnight kiss to her parents.

"Grace, are you forgetting something" Will said as he opened his arms, Grace hugged her Dad and gave him a kiss on the cheek followed by Alicia which they returned. Although they were clearly angry with their kids, they still loved them and they all still needed to know this.

"Zach, what time did you turn your computer off at last night?" Alicia asked

"I don't know" he replied

"Well according to Diane, it was after 9pm, when I told you"

"Yes, but only by 15 or 20 minutes"

"I don't want to hear any excuses, you can add another day on to being grounded and no Computers for that time either, your computer, phone and Ipad will stay downstairs from now on after you have all gone to bed" Will replied.

"Seriously?" he asked

"Yes, totally serious Zach, now off you get up to bed as well so we can talk to your sisters" Alicia said as Zach said goodnight and gave his Mum a Kiss goodnight followed by a hug to Will.

…..

"So what did I miss?" Grace asked her brother as he came up stairs.

"They are totally unreasonable, I just got Grounded for an extra day and no computer either, plus we all need to keep our phones, laptops and Ipads downstairs at night" he complained to his younger sister.

"I hope they actually punish Lucy properly, I bet she gets hardly anything compared to Rachel"

"Well Rachel deserves it; she was the one who was out partying last night and snuck out"

"Yeah, but Lucy was horrible to Rachel today" Grace said defending her sister

"And Rachel wasn't horrible to Lucy?" Zach responded

"Lucy started it"

"You know nothing Grace"

"And what, you do?" Grace shouted

"I know more than you do" Zach replied back even louder.

…..

"Lucy, can you go and sit next to Rachel please" Will requested, Rachel got up and moved to the furthest point on the couch away from Lucy.

"Rachel, lets talk about last night, what happened?" Alicia said

Rachel shrugged her shoulders as she glanced down to her feet.

"Don't make me ask you again, Young Lady"

"There isn't anything to tell, I went to a party, I asked Grace to cover for me and she agreed"

"That's not it by a long shot, Aunt Diane said when you came home she could smell marijuana off you, I need you …."Alicia said as Rachel interrupted

"I swear, I wasn't smoking it, I have never taken drugs" Rachel replied

"I hope that is the truth Rachel" Will said as he suddenly heard the commotion from Grace and Zach upstairs. Will looked at Alicia who got on her feet, smoothed her skirt and walked upstairs.

"I thought I told the pair of you to go to bed" Alicia said as she got to the top of the stairs where Zach and Grace were still arguing. "We have enough trouble with your sisters arguing, I do not want you two getting involved, do you hear?"

"Yes Mum" they replied in unison.

"All right, go to bed, and if your not in bed with the lights out when I come back up there will be hell to pay" She shouted.

Grace and Zach looked at each other, and quickly scuttled off to their own rooms as Alicia made her way downstairs.

…

"Girls, you know that Mum and I really care about you, and seeing you fighting and arguing hurts us"

They continued to sit in silence, not looking at each other until Alicia got back.

"I don't think we will hear a peep out of them now" Alicia said as she sat on the chair that Lucy had occupied now that Will had stolen the seat she was on.

"Rachel, if you didn't take drugs, I want to know who was, and you have to stay as far away from them in future"

"Loads of kids do it Mum, I'd need to stay away from half the school"

"Then stay away from half the school, and Lucy that goes for you too" Will replied sharply. "Take this as a warning both of you, and I will be having the same discussion with Zach and Grace, if I ever find out that any of you have so much as touched drugs, then they will have the book thrown at them"

"And you still haven't answered me, who was smoking the pot that you smelt off of last night"

"It was Mike" Rachel replied without looking at Lucy

"Who is Mike?" Will asked

"You met him once, he was the guy who took Lucy and I home from a party when she got drunk" Rachel said.

"Wait, this is the same guy who was Lucy's boyfriend" Will stated, he knew that Rachel had kissed Lucy's boyfriend last night, but Will didn't want Rachel to think that Lucy had told him.

"You told Dad?" Rachel shouted angrily

"I… I… I was upset" Lucy said as she started to cry.

"You're a snitch" Rachel replied

"That is enough of that Rachel, from now on I don't want either of you to go anywhere near Mike" Will said

"Don't worry, I don't want anything else to do with him" Lucy said sadly

"Not that you have any choice, he wouldn't go near you now anyway" Rachel replied

"Rachel, that is enough, I don't want to hear anymore hurtful comments like that, if you don't have anything nice to say, then you say nothing at all, now apologise" Alicia responded.

"Sorry Lucy"

"Mum, Dad, I'm really tired, can I go to bed now?" Lucy asked.

"Not yet, we still have a lot to talk about, and you can have a lie in tomorrow since you don't have school" Will replied "Rachel, is there anything else you want to tell us about what happened last night?"

"No Dad"

"OK, then you are grounded as well, again, no TV, Internet or phone for 2 weeks" Will said

"But, that is so unfair"

"We still have today to discuss today Rachel"

"Lucy, do you have anything you want to say about today?" Will asked gently

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I just got annoyed because I liked Mike and I thought he liked me, I was upset. Rachel I'm so sorry I hurt you" Lucy said as she started to cry. "If you want to Ground me, go ahead?"

"3 more days Lucy" Will said as Lucy nodded slowly. "Now I want the two of you to put this behind you, I know you are both upset, but this nonsense stops now do you hear" Will added

Lucy nodded again and Rachel looked to the ground.

"Girls, I want you to apologise, and give each other a hug" Alicia said.

The twins looked at each other and muttered an apology before giving each other a loose hug barley touching each other.

"Rachel, off you go get ready for bed now" Alicia said. Rachel kissed them both goodnight and went upstairs to get ready for bed.

Alicia moved onto the couch next to Lucy, whilst Will went to get his laptop.

"Lucy, can you sign into facebook please?" Will asked

"Why?"

"Because, I want to see what is on it" Will said as Lucy looked towards her Mum

"Mum, please don't let him do this" Lucy said as Alicia placed her hand on Lucy's back.

"We have to sweetie, I promise, we won't be angry with you, we just need to look" Alicia said.

"But, please Mum, Dad" Lucy pleaded, tears now streaming down her face.

"You don't need to look, just log in, and leave it to Dad and I" Alicia said "I promise we will do everything we can to help"

Lucy quickly typed her username and password in for her parents to hundreds of notifications.

Will and Alicia quickly looked through the comments with Lucy sitting next to them looking at them as well. She didn't know why people hated her so much, she knew that Rachel was popular, she had lots of people wanting to be like her, and she was friends with the most popular kids in school.

"Lucy sweetie, why don't you go off up to bed, it's been a long day, and you said you were tired" Alicia said, Lucy didn't argue, she just hugged her parents goodnight and went upstairs to bed.

"What do you think we should do?" Alicia asked Will looking at the comments on facebook

"I'm going to print them, take them to school tomorrow when we go to see Mrs Murray, I don't think Lucy deserves to be suspended for a week" Will said

"No, I agree, but maybe having her off school for a week might be beneficial. I'm just glad she isn't going tomorrow, what time are we going in tomorrow, I have court in the afternoon"

"10am, so we can both go" Will replied. He printed all the comments and status's on Lucy facebook and put them into his briefcase as Alicia went upstairs so check in on the kids.

Grace as fast asleep as was Zach, Alicia wasn't surprised after the threat she had made if they were still you when she came upstairs; she made her way to the third floor to the Twin's bedrooms. She opened Rachel's first quietly and noticed she was sitting on her bed painting her nails.

"How is the wrist feeling?" Alicia asked.

"Better than before, but still sore" she replied

"Rach, I really need you to lay off Lucy, she is really upset and what I'm seeing on facebook is pure bullying"

"I won't be nasty to her"

"Well I should hope you wouldn't. You should not be nasty to anyone"

"It's hard Mum, she hurt me"

"Oh Rach, don't you see that you hurt her"

"I didn't want to, I tried to keep my distance from him, but I really liked him, it was like a magnet drawing us together"

"Rach, I don't want to spoil your fun, but there are other boys, you only have one twin sister, it would be awful if Mike was to come between the two of you"

"It's not as simple as that Mum, I don't want to hurt her, I really don't, but there are people in school I want to be friends with who don't like Lucy"

"That is very disappointing to hear Rachel" Alicia said as Rachel hung her head down, she knew what she said made her sound awful and shallow.

"I'm sorry, but it's true"

"Why all of a sudden, it wasn't like that last week? I really thought we had brought you up better than that Rachel"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders.

"I need you to have a long hard think about what you have just said to me and if there is any truth in it, then I don't know who you are, your father will be so disappointed " Alicia left the room and went to check on Lucy who was thankfully fast asleep.

….

"What kept you?" Will asked, he was already ready for bed and under the covers

"Rachel, you will not believe what I just heard come out of her mouth. I have never been ashamed of one of my children before" Alicia said angrily

"What did she say?" Will asked

"That there are people at school who don't like Lucy and that is why she doesn't want to be friends with her"

"She actually said that?" Will asked

"Yes, I think this whole Mike thing is just an excuse. Rachel wants to be cool, and acting like this to her sister is how she is trying to do it" Alicia replied

"She is a bully, our daughter is a bully" Will said angrily "I'm going to get her now, when I'm through with her she will soon change her mind" he moved the bed covers off as he swung out of bed"

"Leave her Will, I have already told her that I'm angry and disappointed in her, let her think about that tonight.

"Is Lucy in her room?"

"Yes, fast asleep" Alicia replied as she climbed into bed

**So, Rachel is basically a bully, but is she, or is there something else behind it?**


	36. Mrs Murrays office

**Thank you for your Reviews, So glad to be back. This chapter isn't what I wanted it to be, but I promise there will be more Will and Alicia Romance, and more Twin drama soon enough.**

"Good Morning Sweetheart" Alicia said as Grace made it down to breakfast she was the first of her children.

"Morning" Grace replied giving her Mum and Dad a hug before sitting at the table.

"Have you got your Gym kit?" Alicia asked

"Yep, it's in my bag" she replied as she grabbed toast from the toast rack and spread some butter on it

"Good Girl" Alicia smiled

It wasn't long before Zach was soon down closely followed by Rachel who slumped into her seat without any morning pleasantries or without even looking at her parents who she knew were disappointed in her.

"Do you want some toast Rachel?" Alicia asked as she noticed the toast rack was lying empty on the table.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry"

"You need to eat before school, I'll make you toast" Alicia replied.

"I don't have time" Rachel said

"Rachel I will drive you to school. Zach and Grace off you go and get the bus, and remember straight home after school, I will call Kate today to let her know you are all grounded."

Grace and Zach quickly finished breakfast before heading off to get the bus, Will had a lot of paperwork to do, and had no meetings scheduled this morning other than one with Alicia and Diane at nine am which he would video conference in to so would work from home for the morning.

Alicia gave Rachel her toast and went into the hallway with Will.

"I'll get Lucy up and ready and meet you at the School at 10am" Will said

"OK, I'm going to have another chat with Rachel in the car"

"OK, let me know how you get on" Will said before kissing Alicia as she and Rachel left for school

….

Alicia got into her Audi and fastened the seatbelt followed by Rachel who plugged her IPod into her ears. Alicia pulled the earphones out her daughters ears.

"I want to talk" Alicia said.

"Mum, I know you hate me, can we just forget this"

"I don't hate you, I am disappointed in how you have been treating Lucy, but I love you"

Rachel didn't reply, but continued to sit in silence.

"Rachel, do you at least understand that your sister is sad, she is upset and scared"

"What is she scared of?" Rachel asked

"She is scared because she feels like she has no friends, you seen what was on her facebook page.

"I don't hate Lucy, I just want some space, some time to be with my friends"

"I can understand that, but I will not put up with you bullying your sister"

"I'm not a bully" Rachel replied offended by the remark.

"No, so what would you call your behaviour?"

"I just want some time to be me, and not a twin"

"That is fine, and you can have time. We know you are individuals, and we have never stopped you from having your own interests or your own friends, but Lucy is your twin, and that will never change"

"I know, but I can't change it if other people don't like her"

"Maybe not, but you don't need to add to her suffering, and if you are doing it to try and be cool then you are being a bully"

"In a weeks time everyone will have forgotten about it" Rachel replied as Alicia drove up to the school gate and kissed Rachel goodbye.

"Remember, straight home Rachel" Alicia called after her daughter before heading off to the office.

….

"Lucy it's time to get up" Will said as he gently shook his daughters shoulder

"Is it time to get up" Lucy said whilst rubbing her eyes.

"Yes, I have a meeting I'm going to video conference into in 20 minutes, so I need you to get up and ready before we go visit Mrs Murray"

"Can't I just stay here?" Lucy asked

"No, I want you to come and I don't want to leave you in on your own"

"OK, I'm going for a shower" Lucy replied as Will left and went downstairs to dial into his video conference.

…

"How are things at home?" Diane asked Alicia as she met with Diane in the board room.

"Not so well, I don't know what has got into Rachel, she doesn't want to be friend with Lucy, as she isn't popular"

"Really?" Diane asked more than a little shocked.

"Yes, I spoke to her again today and she has ensured me that she doesn't hate Lucy, but that she just wants to be an individual, but I'm not so sure"

"If you need me to talk to her let me know, sometimes it's easier to talk to someone else other than your parents"

"We might take you up on that, Will was furious with her last night, I had to hold him back from bursting out of her room and dragging her out of bed after I told him"

"Well that doesn't surprise me, Lucy always was a Daddy's Girl, and he would do anything to protect his girls, even from each other." Diane replied before connecting to Will on the Video call.

"Did you get Lucy up OK" Alicia asked as soon as they got through to each other.

"She is in the shower" Will said.

"OK" Alicia replied before the 3 partners got on with business.

…

"Hay Rachel" Kelly shouted from her locker. Rachel walked over, Kelly was the coolest girl in school, and head of the cheerleading squad, she was the one who would decide how popular she was.

"So, the tryouts are next week, are you going to make them?" Kelly said as she pointed to her wrist.

"I'll try my hardest, not going to let a little sprain get in my way" Rachel replied

"I don't know how you cope with a Sister like that. Who needs enemies when you have a twin sister" Kelly replied

"Totally" Rachel agreed

"When we thought you had broken your arm, well, we wouldn't have let her get away with that" Kelly replied

"It's only a mild sprain, but still she totally got away with it, she is grounded for half the time than I am"

"What, that is totally unfair" Kelly replied "You know if I was you, I'd do something about it, something to really hurt her"

"Like what?" Rachel asked

"Oh, I don't know, take an embarrassing photo of her and post it online, I don't that to my younger sister, I took a photo of her sleeping with drool down her face and posted it on face book, it got over 1000 likes and over 200 shares"

"I can't my Dad deleted my Facebook since I called Lucy a bitch"

"Your parents sound like kill joys, just set up a new one, here" Kelly said handing Rachel her smart phone and she had soon set herself up with a brand new facebook.

…

Will came off of his video conference and had a quick look on Lucy's facebook which was still logged on, on his laptop, there were even more comments than last night, although not as many, he quickly printed them off and added them to the dossier in his brief case.

"Lucy, its time to go" he called upstairs, but Lucy didn't respond, or come downstairs. Will quickly ascended the stairs, to Lucy's room, the door was opened slightly, and Will could see his daughter visibly upset.

"Lucy, it will be OK"

"I can't get this knot out my hair" she replied crying.

"All these tears over a knot in your hair?" Will asked gently, glad it wasn't something more serious, he took the comb from his daughter and carefully took combed the knot out.

"I know, it's stupid, I don't know why that made me cry" she replied trying to smile.

"It's OK, when your upset about something its funny how the smallest thing can set you off. But that's it all out now"

"I always preferred it when you dried my hair when I was little, Mum used to yank the brush harder than you"

Will laughed, when the twins were young after bath time Will would dry one of their hair, and Alicia the other, more times than most Lucy would want Will.

"We have to go honey, or we will be late, Mum has already left, so pop your school uniform on and we can go"

Lucy quickly put her uniform on and met Will downstairs who handed her some toast to eat on the way and a carton of apple juice before jumping into his BMW.

…

"Are you not going to finish your toast?" Will asked. Lucy had eaten a couple of bites and wrapped the rest in her napkin.

"I'm not hungry" was all she replied before looking out of the window. It wasn't long before they were at the school, Will spotted Alicia's car at the far end of the car park, and slid his into the space next to it.

"Come on then, lets go" Will said gently as he opened his door.

Alicia was still in the car waiting for her husband and daughter to arrive, she let herself out and opened the passenger door of the car next to her, where Lucy didn't move.

"I could just sit in the car" she said quietly.

"I'd rather you come in with us, Dad and I we will be with you the whole time" Alicia said

"Of course we will we will be right here." Will said offering his hand to Lucy who accepted it and got out of the car.

….

Mrs Murrays office had 2 parts, an outer area where people could wait, and inside the actual office, after arriving at the school they were sitting outside waiting for Mrs Murray to finish with her appointment below.

"Mr Gardner, Mrs Gardner welcome" Mrs Murray said extending her hand to Will followed by Alicia. They walked into the office and sat across from Mr Murray at her desk.

"So, we are here to talk about Lucy's suspension" Mrs Murray said. "Lucy's Aunt didn't sign the suspension release form yesterday"

"Is a suspension really necessary, this is the first time anything like this has happened, and I can assure you Lucy will not do it again, if she does she knows there will be consequences" Will said.

"Mr Gardner, as you know, this is not the first time this year that Lucy has been in my office, she was sitting here with Rachel just a few weeks ago after they were caught cheating on a test"

"I don't know what you are talking about Mrs Murray, Lucy an explanation?" Will said looking at his daughter for answers.

"I . …. I… I wanted to tell you, but Rachel was already grounded" Lucy said as she stared at her feet.

"Tell us what?" Alicia questioned.

"I switched places with Rachel to sit her Maths test, we got caught and both got an F" Lucy replied

"And what, you just thought that you wouldn't tell us" Alicia shouted at her daughter

"Mrs Murray, why were we not called?" Will asked

"The girls were sent with letters home, that I asked them to bring back signed, which they did, if you just give me a moments I'll get them" Mrs Murray said as she head to the outer part of the office where there were filing cabinets.

When Mrs Murray left both Will and Alicia looked round to their daughter.

"You and your sister have a lot of explaining to do" Will said

"Dad, please don't be angry"

"Angry doesn't even cover it, I'm furious" Will said

"As am I" Alicia added

"Please I can explain, Rachel was scared, she thought she would fail and you would be angry with her, she didn't want to disappoint you and she asked me to do it, I said no at first"

"Well, now we have 2 daughters we are disappointed in" Alicia said which caused Lucy to start crying

"I'm sorry; I promise I'll never do it again"

Mrs Murray was back in the office with the letters which had Alicia's signatures on both of them.

"Lucy, you do know that is illegal" Alicia said

"Yes, and I'm sorry"

"We will discuss this at home with your sister and decide on your punishment, lying to us is just not on" Will said. "Mrs Murray, have you got the suspension release form, I will sign it now"

"Certainly Mr Gardner" Mrs Murray replied as she gave the form to him. Will read it, handed it to Alicia to read and quickly signed it.

"If that is everything Lucy can come back to school next Tuesday" Mrs Murray said.

"Actually there is something else we would like to discuss, another matter, Lucy, can you please wait outside" Will said. Lucy didn't have to be told twice she quickly got up and made her way outside.

Will got the print outs from Lucy's facebook and handed them to Mrs Murray, "for the past day, these have been appearing on Lucy's facebook, I would like the kids who are making these comments punished"

"Mr Gardner, we can't do anything about what appears on line, at home these kids are free to do what they want."

"If you look at the time a lot of these were posted, the kids were not at home, they were here at school, now I have other copies of this and as it just so happens that I have a meeting planned tomorrow with the States attorney and chief of police for Cooks County on another matter, but if these kids are not punished then that is exactly who I will be showing this too. Maybe they will take it seriously"

"Mr Gardner, is that really necessary" the last thing Mrs Murray wanted was for bad press for the school, or for it to get a reputation of bullying.

"I think it is, my daughter is being bullied, and her school should do something about that" Alicia replied

"Thank you for bringing to my attention, I will personally deal with any posts by Capstone Students posted during school hours" Mrs Murray said.

"Thank you, if you can please keep us updated, I will be monitoring Lucys facebook page" Will replied as they left to get Lucy.

"Can I go home now" Lucy said as her parents got out of the office.

"No, you are coming to the office with us" Will said as they walked out to the car, Lucy slid into the passenger seat of her Mothers Audi knowing that her Father was really angry about the test,

"Mum, Rachel already hates me, I don't want to give her anymore reason, can we please forget about the test"

"No, we can not just forget about it, and Rachel does not hate you"

"Well don't punish Rachel, just give it all to me"

"No, Lucy why would you say such a thing, you were in this together and will be punished together equally"

"Because I got us caught" Lucy said quietly as they drove to LG&G.

…..

"There is my special Girl" Diane said as Lucy walked into her office and gave her a hug.

"Can I hide out in here for a while away from Mum and Dad"

"Sure you can"

"Great, Thanks"

"Everything OK honey?"

"Yeah, except Rachel and I are in even more trouble, Mum and Dad found out that I tried to do Rachel's test for her a few weeks ago, but we got caught and then both got an F. But we forged Mum's signature on the letters the school sent out"

"Well, that wasn't very clever was it" Diane said sharply

"No, Rachel begged me to do it, why is it every time I get in trouble Rachel is involved"

"Maybe you should do what you want to do, and not what Rachel wants you to do"

"Rachel isn't talking to me anymore anyway, so no chance of that happening"

"The two of you will sort it out, even if I have to bang your heads together to make you both see sense"

Lucy got her book which she was nearly finished from her bag as flopped onto the sofa in Diane's office and started reading.

…

"What are we going to do with those two" Will said as he walked into Alicia's office.

"Something that forces them to be together, you were going to tidy the garden this weekend, the grass needs cut and the shrubs are overgrown. We will get them to do it instead"

"I like the sound of that, anything to get out of gardening" Will said, he hated cutting the grass usually he would pay Zach to do it instead.

"They can also do some extra schoolwork, Lucy is going to be behind after a week off, Rachel can speak to her teachers and get her homework and what she missed and a few extra hours doing homework won't hurt Rachel" Alicia replied.

"Will that be enough" Will said

"Just wait till the lecture the pair of them get when we get home, how dare they forge my signature" Alicia said, usually she was the one who had to calm Will down, but she was furious.

"Alicia, calm down,"

"I will not calm down, how many other times do you think they have forged our signature, I'm going to call the School and Graces, see just how many things I have signed this year" Alicia said as she called the schools back.

She found out from the High School that Will had signed a sick note for Zach when he had tonsillitis which they knew about and Alicia had signed a field trip form for the twins earlier in the year which she knew about. This had made Alicia feel better, she had thought maybe there was no need in calling Capstone Junior High where Grace was, but there wouldn't be any harm in finding out. Alicia was even angrier when she got off the phone, just last week she had apparently signed something. A letter to say Grace was Ill and hadn't done her homework. Alicia explained that had not been the case and that she would appreciate her teacher reissuing the homework and she would make sure Grace completed it tonight, along with any other homework she had.

Alicia stormed into Diane's office where Lucy was reading.

"Lucy did you or your sister forge my signature on the letter about your test?"

Lucy thought for a second and remembered that she was the one who signed it.

"I did"

"And did you forge a note from me to say Grace was too ill to do her homework?"

Lucy didn't do that, it was Rachel, but she would take the blame in the hope that Rachel and Grace would start talking to her again.

"I did" she said meekly.

"Don't even think about doing it again" Alicia said as she walked out. Lucy looked up to Diane.

"You didn't do it, did you. Rachel had something over Grace, you told me that on Monday night, Rachel did it, didn't she?"

Lucy nodded slowly "They why did you tell your Mum that it was you"

"It's easier that way"

"You shouldn't cover for your sisters" Diane stated as she sat on the sofa next to her niece and opened her arms, Lucy let Diane hold her tight for a few moments.

"You need to learn to stand up for yourself, so we are going to go into your Mums office, she has court soon, but I want you to tell her the truth"

"No, I can't, she doesn't like us to lie"

"Your parents need to know the truth" Diane said.

"The truth about what?" Alicia was standing at Dianes door with lunch for Lucy. "Come on, I'm waiting"

"I didn't sign Graces letter, I just said that to keep Rachel out of trouble" Lucy sighed

"OK, so Rachel done it then" Alicia said, and Lucy nodded. "I think I know why you pretended it was you, but you didn't have to do that, I have lunch for us, why don't you come and join Dad and I, and we can go eat outside somewhere" Alicia said to Lucy who nodded

They went to a small park across the road and ate their lunch, there was no mention of facebook, or forged signatures, just the 3 of them enjoying lunch and talking about music, and the world going by.

"I have to get to court" Alicia said as she kissed Lucy on the head before wrapping her arms around her husband's neck and kissing his lips.

"Go kick some butt" Will said before putting the empty containers in the bin and walking with Lucy back to the office.

"Dad, do I need to come to the office with you every day?" Lucy asked

"Yes, I don't think it's appropriate to leave you home alone when you're suspended"

"But, it is so boring"

"Well, when Rachel brings you school work you will have something to do, won't you"

"Yeah I guess" Lucy replied gloomily

"Listen, in a week, this will all be over, you will be back at school, back in orchestra, this will all be a distant memory"

"I'm leaving orchestra" Lucy replied

"Why, you are so good at it, and I was really looking forward to your concert"

"Mike is in orchestra"

"Oh, well that doesn't mean that you need to leave"

"Yeah it does, I don't want to be anywhere near him"

"I'll tell you what, how about when we get upstairs we go online and see if we can find another class for you to join, one that is not in School" Diane had seen an advertisement for Chicago Music Youth Theatre last week, and had suggested to Will and Alicia that it may be good for Lucy, They had both agreed that it looked like a good idea for Lucy and would speak to her about it, but after last night, they got waylaid.

"OK, we can have a look" Lucy said.

They got to Wills office and it wasn't long before he had found a the group Diane had mentioned, they would be holding auditions on Friday for Les Miserables.

"OK, so you can go there on Friday and audition" Will said

"Dad, I'm grounded remember" Lucy replied

"I remember, how about this is a secret, no one other than you and I need to know, I'll take you myself on Friday afternoon"

"OK, but this is singing, not orchestra"

"I know, but you can sing, this will be really good for you, you can make new friends, maybe even meet a nice boy and look they do musician auditions too, I'd really like it if you tried this, if you don't like it then you can stop" Will replied

"I'll do it, but only if Mum is happy for me to go, she seems pretty angry"

"I'll sort your Mother, but maybe you should have a wee practice, I can finish this off at home, so lets go, and you can practice before your brother and sisters get home" Will said. Lucy jumped to her feet ready to leave.

"Let's go"

"OK, just give me a few minutes to speak to Diane and log off" Will said.

Will shut his computer down, and walked into Dianes office

"Im going to take Lucy home, I have managed to talk her into joining the drama club you found"

"Really, that's great"

"Yeah, only problem is the auditions are on Friday, I have told her I'll take her, so was wondering if you could take my meeting with Mr Herbetson"

"Yes, that's fine, anything for our Lucy" Diane said smiling, and Will left with Lucy to go home.

**Please Review**


	37. Twin Trouble 3

**Thanks for the Reveiws guys, updates are going to be a little slower as I have started a new fic called "The First Family of Illinois" It's going to be quiet similar to this, but its about the Florricks and not the Gardners. **

"I'm not happy with her going when she is grounded" Alicia said, the family had just finished dinner, the kids were all doing their homework. Zach and Rachel had picked up some work for Lucy who had went straight up to her room to do it. She and Will were in their bedroom sitting on the bed

"Alicia, it will be 6 months before the next lot of auditions, and you agreed this will be good for her last week when Diane mentioned it. You have seen how unhappy Lucy is"

"I know, but what if she didn't get in, that would shatter any confidence she has left" Alicia said

"She'll get in" Will said

"You don't know that, yes I agree she is fantastic, but she lacks the confidence that is needed"

"This will help her become more confident, it will get her into a whole new circle of friends"

"OK, take her, but the other kids can't know or they will throw a fit, if she gets in we tell them she went next week" Alicia said. She didn't really like lying to the kids, but she knew it would be for the best.

"I promise you, this will be a good thing" Will said as he pulled Alicia in to kiss her

"We still need to talk to the girls about forging my signature" Alicia reminded him

"I know, lets just leave them to finish their homework first" Will said as he stared to kiss Alicia again.

Lucy left her room, and walked through the bathroom she shared with her sister and knocked on the door. She had no response so she pushed the door slightly opened to find Rachel lying on her bed reading a magazine with her Ipod on.

"Hay" Lucy said loudly as she moved across the room, Rachel removed the earphones from her ears and looked up.

"What?" she questioned harshly

"Mum and Dad, well they know about the Math test we tried to cheat on" Lucy said

"What, you snitched?" Rachel shouted

"No, Mrs Murray told them, she even brought out the letters we had signed, then Mum phoned Graces School and ours later on to see what else she had signed this year. Mr Peters told her about Graces note. I told Mum I signed it, but she knew I was lying. I did try and get you out of trouble"

"Oh that is just great, at this rate I'll never get to the Summer Formal" Rachel replied

"It wasn't my fault" Lucy said defensively

"No, it was all your fault, Oh and by the way, Mrs Murray held an emergency assembly today about cyber bullying, she had people in her office about it, everyone at school hates you even more now" Rachel said as she put her earphones back in and turned away from Lucy.

Lucy went back to her room, closed the door and put some music on.

…

Alicia and Will had finished up in the Bedroom and went into the family room where Grace was doing her homework

"How are you getting on?" Alicia asked

"Not so good, the teacher gave me all the homework I missed last week" Grace said without thinking.

"Homework you missed?" Will questioned with a raised eyebrow

"I meant she forgot to give the whole class it, and gave us double tonight" Grace replied trying to save herself.

"Ahh, so that's not the homework you didn't do when you got your sister to forge a note saying you were sick" Alicia replied

"Emmm, well it wasn't quiet like that"

"Well your Father and I will want to talk to you and Rachel about it later, so you just finish your homework as quickly as you can" Alicia said before leaving the room with Will behind her. They walked into the front living room, sat on the couch and put the TV on.

"When was the last time we just sat and watched TV", Alicia said

"No idea, but it's nice isn't it" Will replied , Alicia put her feet under her and rested her head on Will's chest.

"It is, when do you want to talk to Rachel and Lucy?" Will asked

"Soon, just lets have some time with just us for a while, even if it is just watching TV" Alicia said as Will put the baseball on.

…..

After the game had finished Alicia and Will went upstairs to Lucys room and called Rachel through.

"We want to talk to you both about your Maths test a few weeks ago?" Will said

"And how you forged my signature" Alicia added

"So, what do you have to say for yourselves?" Will added

"Sorry" they both replied quietly

Alicia was sitting on Lucy's desk chair, the twins were both on the bed and Will was sat at the edge of the bed.

"An F is going to do real damage to your grade at the end of the year" Alicia said

"I know Mum, but I spoke to my teacher and I can do some extra credit work, I have already started it. It won't get me back to a 4.0, but hopefully close" Lucy replied

"Rachel, have you?" Will asked

"No, I didn't ask for it" she replied

"Well, I suggest that you do, and you can both spend all day on Sunday doing it" Alicia said.

"And on Saturday, I want you to go into the yard and tidy it up, I will have a list that needs done" Will added

"Yard work, you want me to do Yard Work" Rachel said

"Yes, but if you would rather be grounded for longer, that could be arranged" Alicia replied.

"No, its OK, I'll work in the yard" Rachel said

"Good, and remember to get that extra credit work" Will said as he stood up.

"Rachel, come downstairs with us, we need to talk to you and Grace" Alicia said, as the 3 of them walked down to the family room where Grace was sitting.

"Have you finished yet?" Alicia asked

"Yes" Grace replied

"So, do you both know why we are here, having this discussion"

"Yes, because Lucy can't keep her mouth shut" Rachel replied

"No, how about because Grace was being too lazy to do her homework, and Rachel you tried to get her out of it"

"I wasn't being lazy, I just didn't want to do it" Grace replied, which caused her to get a glare from both parents.

"If you must know Lucy tried to cover for you herself so that she would get in trouble, fortunately for her she isn't a great liar." Will said

"So, am I grounded?" Grace asked

"Yes, another week, and I expect your homework to be done everyday as soon as you get home from school, and after dinner every night you have to do the washing up" Will said.

"Rachel, there is a huge pile of ironing in the utility room, that has your name on it, everyday, that will be your job this week"

"But I thought you were going to get someone to take it away and bring it back ironed" Rachel whined. It was true, Alicia did send the ironing out when she was busy, as well as having a cleaner who came in a couple of times a week, but the kids still had to tidy and clean their own rooms.

"I was, and now your going to do it instead" Alicia replied. "Grace, time for bed" she added.

It wasn't long before the entire family were in bed. Alicia had checked on the kids who were all fast asleep thankfully, or so she though. She climbed into bed next to Will and lay her head on his shoulder.

"Thank God today is over"

"I know, I just hope tomorrow is not so dramatic" Will replied

"We have 4 teenagers; of course life is going to be dramatic"

"I didn't think it would be like this. I'm just glad we didn't have the internet when we were growing up, it makes life so much harder"

"I know, I dread to imagine the photos I would have had" Alicia replied

"No need for you to worry about that, you would look beautiful in all of them"

"Well, Thank You, although half of my first year at college I was drunk"

"As was I, but the kids don't need to know about that" Will said to which Alicia agreed.

"Do you think we need to take their Facebooks away from them?" Alicia asked.

"No, we just need to talk to them, Mrs Murray called this afternoon, she talked to the school about cyber bullying and gave detention to those who posted to Lucy's facebook" Will said

"And, has it helped, did you see if anything has been added"

"I had a look earlier and there was nothing" Will said happily.

"Good, but you will keep and eye on it, won't you" Alicia said half sleepily

"I will" Will replied as he turned around to see Alicia sleeping.


	38. The Audition

A couple of days had passed and the kids were not getting on any better. Rachel and Grace were still not talking to Lucy, other than when Rachel brought schoolwork home for her sister everyday.

Will and Alicia didn't know what to do and hoped that having Diane over for their usual Friday night dinner would help. But they were sure Diane would have a lot to talk about. Diane had a meeting with Social Services today, she was serious about wanting to be a parent, and had applied to become a foster parent. Will and Alicia had written a glowing report for Diane, but today was the day she would find out if she had been accepted or not. Alicia and Will had no doubt that she would be, she was an upstanding citizen, who was also very wealthy, but Diane had her doubts, she wasn't young anymore and was married to her job.

"Good Morning Mum" Lucy said as she came into the kitchen at breakfast time, she was already dressed with jeans on and a sweater.

"Morning sweetie" Alicia replied with a morning kiss to her daughters head "Would you like pancakes?"

"No thanks, I'm not very hungry, I'm nervous for today"

"Honey your audition isn't until 5pm, you need to eat" Alicia said as she placed a plate in front of her daughter. "Lucy, you know if you don't get in that its not the end of the world, there will be other auditions" Alicia added

"You don't think I will get in?"

"No, that's not what I am saying at all, you are great, but it depends what they are looking for, I just don't want you to get your hopes up"

"I'm going to my room until Dad is ready to take me to work with him" Lucy replied as she stood up feeling deflated

"Lucy, your Dad has court; you need to come with me"

"I'll go to court with Dad"

"No, you will come with me, so sit down and eat your pancakes" Alicia said as Will came in

"Dad, can I go to court with you today?"

"Sorry sweetie, you need to go with Mum, but I will be back at noon, we can come back to the house and practice for an hour then I will take you to your audition, how does that sound."

"OK" Lucy replied she left the room to wait in her room; she didn't want to face her brother and sister today.

It wasn't long before Rachel, Zach and Grace were on the school bus all thankful that Friday had arrived. Zach was no longer grounded, much to Sophia's delight; they had arranged to go meet Sophia's parents after school before Zach was going home to dinner with Diane and his family.

"So, what are you wearing to meet Sophia's Dad?" Rachel asked

"Eh, this" he replied pointing to his school uniform

"You should go home first, get a cool pair of jeans and a nice shirt"

"I think I'll stick to my uniform" Zach replied shaking his head at his sister

"You want to make a good impression Zach"

"And what, my school uniform that Sophia will be wearing too won't be good enough"

"OK, if you think so" Rachel replied.

…

"Lucy, can you go into my office and start on some school work" Alicia said as they got out of the elevator at Lockhart, Gardner and Gardner.

"Can I go and see Auntie Diane first?" Lucy asked

"So long as you don't bother her and straight back" Alicia said

"Thanks Mum"

Lucy dumped her bag on her the floor of her mother's office and walked across the hall to her Aunts.

"Hi Auntie Diane" Lucy said as she walked into her office. Justice jumped on her as soon as she walked in.

"Hi sweetie, how are you feeling about your audition?" Diane asked

"Nervous, Dad is going to take me home after lunch to practice for an hour or two"

"That's a good idea, I'm sure you will be great"

"I'm glad you think so, my Mum doesn't" Lucy said as she picked Justice up and sat on the sofa

"Your Mum thinks wonders of you" Diane replied sitting next to her.

"She said I might not get in"

"Honey, you know nothing is certain, I think you are fab and if they say no then that is there loss, but you know it might be a possibility. I'm sure your Mum just doesn't want to get your hopes up"

"That's what she said, I didn't want to come here with her today, I wanted to go with Dad, and she has been in a mood all morning"

"Who's she, the cats mother, and I'll be in a worse mood if you don't start your schoolwork" Alicia said from the doorway.

"Sorry Mum" Lucy said as she got up and left to go into her Mother's office

"Sorry Diane, I think she is getting fed up spending all her time with us, Lucy needs some time away from us, with Kids her own age" Alicia said, slightly annoyed at her self for being moody with Lucy.

"That's why this audition will be so good for her"

"It will, I just want her to get in, and make some new friends, I'm worried she doesn't get in, her confidence will be shattered, and all I have done is snap at her today"

"I'm sure that's not true. Are you going to be OK here yourself today?" Diane asked

"Sure, you go and have your meeting, and I hope everything goes great, you will make a great Mum"

"Thanks Alicia"

….

Diane's meeting went very well, she was happy to find out that she had passed and would now be a Foster carer, her reference from Alicia and Will, and her home visits had all been perfect.

"We have a few kids to show you" Kirsten said. Kirsten was a social worker who dealed with vulnerable children, but this was what made her happiest in her job, pairing up children with parents who would love and cherish them. She knew Diane would do a great job

Diane looked at the file in front of her, the first one had a picture of a girl of around 13 or 14, and she had red hair, almost the exact same shade as Diane's.

"This is Zoey, she has just turned 13 years old she is from St Louis. Zoey's Mother died when she was 8, her Step Father was abusive to her and she went into care when she was 10. She has been in a children's home for 3 years other than a few quick stays with foster carer's"

"Why just short stays?" Diane asked, she knew she was going to have a tough road ahead of her, and didn't mind the hard work, but she wanted to know what she was letting herself in for.

"Zoey is very wary around men, those homes all had 2 parents, and we have since discovered that she would be best placed in a home with just females, which is why, I have suggested her for you today"

"What are her hobbies?" Diane asked. Kirsten was surprised by this question, most foster parents didn't ask this question, most just had a quick look through the profiles before moving onto the next one.

"She likes to dance, before her mother passed away she was a ballet dancer, but she gave that up a long time ago. She reads a lot and loves Disney movies"

"She sounds a lot like my niece Grace, does Zoey have any other family, you mentioned her Step Father, but what about a Father, Grandparents, Siblings"

"We don't know who her father is, her birth certificate has no name, she has one Grandfather who is still living, but he has dementia, and doesn't remember who Zoey is"

"How sad" Diane said as she touched the photo. She didn't know why, but Zoey seemed like the perfect child for Diane.

"There are a few more kids in here if you want to have a look; I have selected some younger kids. Most people want a younger child or a baby" Kirsten replied

"I don't think I need to look anymore, I mean if Zoey would like to meet with me, I would be happy to share my home with her"

Kirsten smiled, this made her happy, and she loved it when a child and parent just seemed right for one another

"I will speak to Zoey this evening, I'll tell her a bit about you and if she is happy we can arrange a meeting. We like to have a meeting or two first before we bring Zoey to stay, then if there is any problems we can move Zoey out and pick another child, but we would prefer not to do that.

"No, I'm sure we can work through any problems, the poor child has been through enough"

…..

"Are you ready for Lunch?" Will said as he walked into his wife's office

Alicia glanced at her watch "OK, how about we go to the café down the road, Lucy, are you ready"

"Why don't you both go, I'll just hang here"

"You had no breakfast, put your shoes and coat on and let's go" Alicia said

Lucy did as she was told, although she wasn't hungry at all.

"How was court Dad"

"It was good, we got a not guilty verdict" Will said to a smile from his wife, they both knew that was going to be a good payment to the company.

"Dad, was he guilty though, I mean what if he actually did it, I mean whatever it was and you helped him get off"

"It's not like that sweetheart; we follow the law and just help people to get a fair trial"

"So if he were poor, he shouldn't get as good a lawyer"

"Lucy, everyone is entitled to a lawyer, which is why we participate in legal aid. Not all companies do, but we feel that it's our moral obligation to" Alicia replied

"So, that's like your defence, its OK to get murderers off, so long as you participate in legal aid"

"Not everyone we deal with are murderers, we also work with Business men and woman, families going through divorce, adoptions and lots of innocent people have to be helped as well, everyone deserves representation and we give the best representation to everyone we can" Will said

"I understand, I just don't like the idea of murderers roaming the street"

"Nor do we sweetie" Will replied "Now, are you all ready for your audition?"

"Yes I think so, Dad can we still have a practice"

"Have you got much school work left?" Alicia asked

"No, it's all done" Lucy said

"Good Girl, but can you please eat your lunch, you have hardly touched your sandwich" Alicia replied as Lucy lifted her sandwich and took a few bites before putting it back down.

…

After Lunch Will took Lucy home to have a quick practice and then off to her audition, the audition was held in the groups own premises, which was on the outskirts of the City Centre.

"So what are you going to sing for us" Colin asked. Colin was the leader of the group, it was unusual for someone of Lucy's age to audition for the group, it was usually younger kids. Normally kids joined when they were 7 and could stay in the group until 21, but they didn't normally have new members older than 8 or 9.

"I.. I'd like to sing No Good Deed from Wicked please" Lucy said, as she sang the song, including the big loud notes and high notes perfectly.

"Lucy that was fabulous" Caitlin said, Caitlin was one of the other teachers from the group

"Thank you" Lucy replied

"Can you wait outside for a few moments and we will come back and get you" Colin said.

Lucy walked outside to find her father waiting, "how did it go kiddo" Will said

"Great, they said I was fabulous, but to wait outside for a few moments"

"That's my girl" Will smiled, A few moment later and Caitlin came out for her

"Lucy, your audition was great, but we have a few concerns, you can sing, and there is no denying that, but usually the kids who join us are much younger when they do, we just worry it may take a while to catch up"

"Oh, I'm sorry" Lucy replied

"No, never apologise for talent" Colin said "We would like you to join our group, if you want to, e just need to work on your dancing skill, but you will be an asset to our group. Your voice is out of this world, we just worry that your audition lacked confidence, but give it a few months and you will be a star"

Lucy smiled "Thank you so much"

"Is it your Father who is with you, why don't you bring him in so we can discuss membership options"

"Thank you" Lucy said again before brining her Dad in to go through payment and class times.

**Thanks for your Reviews guys, I'm not really into writing depressing fan fictions detailing abuse, self , anorexia etc, and I promise that I would never write anything to dark but the next few chapters may have a little in it, but it will not be too bad, nothing that won't be suitable for a teenager, and it will only be for a chapter or two.**


	39. You need to eat

"So how did the audition go" Alicia asked as her husband and daughter came into the kitchen

"Great Mum, I got in, they want me to start next week, I have to go on a Wednesday and a Friday"

"I knew you would do it sweetheart" Alicia said as she pulled Lucy into a hug. "Auntie Diane called, she will be here really soon, so why don't you get washed up for dinner. Rachel has brought you some work back from school you can make a start on it after dinner"

"OK Mum" Lucy said as she went upstairs and to her sisters room

"Rachel, Mum said you got me school work" Lucy said. Rachel was sitting on her bed painting her toe nails.

"Yeah, its on my desk"

"Thanks"

"Lucy, we need to do the garden tomorrow remember" Rachel said. Lucy was shocked she didn't expect Rachel to talk to her

"Yeah, I know"

"Well my wrist is still sore, I don't know what Mum and Dad were thinking when they gave us that to do"

"Don't worry, I'll do all the hard work" Lucy replied.

"Good" Rachel replied not hiding the smile on her face and went back to painting her nails.

….

Diane was over the moon, Kirsten had given her a copy of Zoey's profile to take away with her, she had gone back to the office and read it over and over. She really hoped that Zoey would want to meet with her.

She had left the office and made her weekly trip to Will and Alicia's house in a few weeks time she hoped Zoey would be making this trip or the Gardner's may come to Diane's instead, the notion gave her butterfly and make her giddily happy.

"Hello Auntie Diane" Grace shouted as she ran down the stairs

"Hello Sweetheart" Diane said giving her a hug followed by Lucy

"How did it go?" Diane whispered to Lucy

"Great, I got in" Lucy replied back in a whisper.

"I knew you would, that's my girl"

Diane walked into the kitchen followed by Grace and Lucy

"So are you two getting on better?" Diane asked, both girls shrugged.

"Come on Girls, I really don't like it when you are all like this" Diane said

"It's her fault" Grace said, Lucy just sat down at the table.

"Where are Rachel and Zach?" Diane asked

"Rachel is painting her nails and Zach is at his girlfriends house, he should be home soon" Grace replied.

"Grace, go finish your homework please, Lucy you can make a start on the work Rachel brought home, dinner will be ready in half an hour" Alicia said to her kids who both went upstairs.

"So how did it go?" Will asked

"Great" Diane said, as she pulled out Zoey's profile

"I got accepted, they picked out a few kids for me, they try and match us up as best they can. They have chosen Zoey, she is 13 years old, her Mother passed away and her stepfather was abusive. She has been in a home since she was ten, she loves to dance and read" Diane said quickly. Will has known Diane for more years than he cares to remember, but has never seen her so excited.

"This is all moving so quickly, I thought they would accept you and that would be it for a while" Alicia stated

"I know, Kirsten is going to speak to Zoey tonight to see if she wants to meet, we should tell the kids tonight" Diane said

"Tell us what?" Rachel said, she had finished her nails and come down for some water

"Auntie Diane has some news, but she will tell you all at dinner" Alicia said

"I want to talk to you before dinner though" Diane said to her niece, Rachel looked back at her Aunt in confusion. Will and Alicia had asked Diane to see if they could talk some sense into Rachel, they knew she often could get her to see sense when she wouldn't listen to them.

"OK, what about?" Rachel said

"How about we go to your room for privacy" Diane suggested

…

Rachel sat on her bed with Diane next to her

"What is going on?" Rachel asked

"I have seen your sister everyday this week, and she is really hurting"

"Not you too, look I don't hate her, I just don't have anything in common with her other than our DNA"

"I'm not asking you to be best friends with her, but I would like you to start talking to her, why don't you do something together just the 2 of you"

"Like what, a shopping trip, or a trip to the movies, we are grounded remember, of course if maybe you could get Mum and Dad to let us out tomorrow, we could do something" Rachel said, as much as she didn't want to spend time with her sister, spending time with her at the movies or the mall, was much better than in the garden doing yard work.

"Nice try, what about a movie in the house, just the 2 of you"

"No thanks, Dad is making us do yard work , will have the whole day with her tomorrow"

"Rachel, you do understand that your sister is upset, the two of you need to sort this thing out before it gets too big"

"I know she is angry with me, but I'm angry with her too, I have my own friends and I don't need Lucy getting in my way" Rachel said as she got up and went downstairs for dinner.

…

"So I have news for you all" Diane said as she spooned some of Alicia's lasagne onto her plate. "I was hoping to tell you all at the same time though"

"Forget about Zach, just tell us" Grace said excitedly, she assumed that Diane had bought them all a present like tickets to a concert or something like that. Zach was supposed to be home at 5pm, but it was not 7pm and he wasn't home, Alicia had tried to call him with no luck and she wasn't happy

"OK, well I decided that it was about time that I became a mother, so I went and met with social services who have allowed me to become a foster mother" Diane said

"Really, so what your going to get like care home kids to look after" Grace said tactlessly

"Well Yes, but that's not what you can call her" Diane said

"So your getting a girl, is she a baby?" Rachel asked

"No, she is 13, her name is Zoey, and hopefully if she wants to she will be coming to stay with me in the next few weeks" Diane said

"That's lovely Auntie Diane, I am happy for you" Lucy said.

"What I am really hoping for is that she will have some cousins to look out for her" Diane said looking between Rachel and Lucy.

"Of course we will, won't we Rachel" Lucy said

"Yeah" Rachel said as she put the last of her lasagne into her mouth. Alicia couldn't help but notice that Lucy hadn't eaten anything.

"Lucy, you haven't touched your dinner" Alicia admonished

"I'm not hungry, may I be excused" Lucy said

"No, you can eat your dinner" Alicia said

"But.."

"But nothing Lucy, you didn't have breakfast and barley touched lunch and it was the same yesterday" Will said gently "I need you to eat at least half of your dinner" he added.

Lucy started to slowly eat, it wasn't long before her sisters had left the table and it was only the grown ups left. Lucy felt like they were all watching her and she didn't like it. "Do you all need to stare at me" she said. Will could tell she was upset her eyes were starting to fill.

"We do if you're not going to eat" Alicia said angrily

"I'm not like you Mum, I can't eat what I like and always be thin" Lucy said back.

"Alicia, Diane, why don't you go next door, I'll stay with Lucy" Will said, he could feel the tension building up between them.

After Alicia and Diane left, Will moved to the seat closest to Lucy, he gently placed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "How about I heat whats left up, it must be cold by now" Will said

"OK" Lucy replied, she was looking down into the food, and playing with it with her fork before Will took it from the table and placed it into the microwave.

"You're a smart girl Lucy, I'm sure you can work out what happens if you don't eat"

"Dad you wouldn't understand"

"Then make me, tell me what you're feeling"

"I'm fat"

"You're not fat" Will replied

"See, you don't understand" Lucy said before Will took the dinner out of the microwave and placed it back in front of his daughter.

….

"Clearly there is something wrong with her, and I just jumped down her throat" Alicia said guiltily "what kind of mother does that make me?"

"Lucy will be fine, she is in good hands, and you don't know that anything is going on, maybe she is coming down with something and just isn't hungry" Diane stated

"No, it's not that, she seems sad, and with everything that has went on this week, I'm scared Diane" Alicia said

"Don't be, she is going to be fine, we will all make sure that she is"

"I'm going to check on her" Alicia said as she got up and walked into the kitchen to hear her daughter complain about being fat, she walked over to the table and cupped Lucy's face in her hand. "You are not fat, you're perfect" Lucy said placing a kiss on her head

"But, Grace said I ripped one of her school shirts, I wore it by accident last week, she said it was because I'm fat"

"Oh honey, Grace isn't like you and Rachel, she hasn't developed yet, of course you will be bigger than she is, but you are not fat" Alicia replied.

"Promise" Lucy replied

"Yeah, I promise, so that's enough of this nonsense, I want you to promise me that you will start to eat" Alicia said

"OK, I promise I will"

"Good Girl" Alicia

"Mum, will you tell me if you ever think I'm getting fat"

"If you do, I'll tell you, and then we can do something about it, but right now you are perfect"

"Will where are you going" Alicia said replied as she walked to the worktop where Will was now standing just as he started to leave the room she followed him out

"To speak to Grace" Will said angrily

"No, I will talk to Grace, things are delicate just now between Grace and Lucy, do you really want to go making things worse?"

"Alicia, she told us she ripped it on a hook in the bathroom, and now she is trying to blame it on Lucy, that is just vindictive"

"I know, but trust me I will deal with her, why don't you go and check on Lucy and then go through and see Diane.

….

"Hi sweetie" Alicia said as she walked into Grace's room

"Hi Mum, I've finished all my homework" she said smiling

"Good, honey, there is something I want to talk to you about"

"What's wrong Mum?"

"Your sister, she hasn't been eating, because she thinks she is fat, do you know anything about that?" Alicia asked to silence from her daughter "because if you do, I really need to know"

"No Mum, I don't know anything"

"OK, it's just well we are really worried about Lucy, she has barley eaten for the past couple of days, and you're a big girl now Grace, you understand that can make people really sick"

"Like anorexia?"

"Yes, and you wouldn't want anything like that to happen to Lucy, would you"

"No Mum, look I might have jokingly told her she was fat, I blamed her for my school shirt getting ripped. She thought she did it"

"I am really disappointed Grace, what you have done is bullying, and I did not bring you up to be a bully" Alicia said

"Please don't tell Daddy"

"Sorry Kiddo, I'm not keeping this from him, but I really need you to apologise, and if you ever do anything that hurtful again you will be in big trouble, do you understand"

"Yes Mum" Grace replied gloomily as Alicia left the room and passed Rachel in the hallway.

"You told her she was fat, what did you do that for" Rachel shouted at her sister

"I thought you would have been pleased, you hate her as much as I do?"

"You don't hate her, how can you hate her" Rachel shouted

"Because that's what you wanted me to do, I thought we were angry at her"

"I am angry at her for hurting me, but she has done nothing to you, I can't believe you were so fucking cruel"

"Sorry Rachel" Grace said

"Go say that to Lucy" Rachel said as she walked out and downstairs.

Rachel had heard the whole conversation with her mother, and suddenly in had sunk in, that her sister was really hurting, and this could really affect her. She had to sort this out now.

…..

"If you have had enough to eat you can leave the table" Will said as he watched his daughter quickly get up and run out to the garden to sit on one of the loungers. He took her plate and put the rest of the dinner into the bin.

"Hi Dad" Rachel said as she came through to the kitchen for water "Is Lucy OK?"

"She is out in the garden why don't you go see" Will said

"Dad, you know I never meant to hurt her, I mean I heard what Grace said, I promise that was nothing to do with me"

"Your sister can really use some friends right now. I know you had your differences, but I don't want this to go any further" Will said

"Neither do I, I don't want her to turn anorexic"

"No Rachel, neither do I, but if this goes any further it will just get worse"

"I'll go talk to her" Rachel said as she grabbed another bottle of water and went out to the garden.

"Hay, can I sit here?" Rachel said to Lucy who was sitting on a large swinging chair at the far end of the garden.

Lucy was shocked, she didn't know why Rachel was talking to her, was this going to be some kind of cruel joke. Rachel could see her sister had been crying.

"Sure" Lucy replied as her sister sat on the swing next to her

"I'm sorry Lucy, I know I've been a cow"

"I'm sorry too, I just want to be friends again" Lucy replied as Rachel placed her arm around her sisters shoulder.

"Mum and Dad are really worried, I think they think you're anorexic"

"No, I was just being stupid. Grace said I was fat, and I felt like everything was spiralling out of control. Not eating was something I could control. I couldn't control anything else. You wouldn't understand"

"I'm sorry, it's my fault, I just can't explain how Mike made me feel, it was like we were magnates drawn to each other. I swear I never ever meant to hurt you"

"It did hurt, when he asked me out it was like I was finally making friends who accepted me for who I was, and then I wasn't good enough for him"

"No, it wasn't that you weren't good enough for him, you just weren't right for him, you need a sweet boy, and Mike is not sweet, he is bad, really bad." Rachel said

"Bad in what way"

"Like one that Mum and Dad wouldn't approve of, he isn't bad to me, I just mean that he isn't right for you. We will find you a guy one who will be for you"

"Rach, if I tell you something, you won't get really mad will you"

"I'll try not to"

"Well, I got to go out today, and not to work with Mum and Dad. Dad took me to an audition, that was why I was late back"

"An Audition for what?"

"A club, Chicago Youth Musical Theatre, we put on shows and stuff"

"What like Broadway"

"Kind of, anyway I got in"

"That's great, see you'll make friends there"

"I hope so" Lucy said as her stomach started to rumble

"Are you hungry"

"Yeah, like you wouldn't believe"

"Let's go get some chips" Rachel said as she walked into the house followed by her sister and into the kitchen cupboard to get some potato chips and dip.

…..

Kirsten went into the Children's home in St Louis, as soon as she left Diane she got the train to St Louis to meet with Zoey.

"Hi Kirsten" Zoey said with trepidation when she saw her social worker in the office. Usually she came when something bad had happened. Zoey had a habit of bad things happening to her, after her Mother died her stepfather had been abusive with her, Zoey still didn't like being in the same room as a man on her own.

"Hi Zoey, why don't you take a seat" she said smiling

"Honey, I have some news for you. I met a nice lady today, her name is Diane, and she is a foster carer. I showed Diane your profile as I think the two of you would get on really well together, she would like to meet you, would you like that?"

"I don't know, I don't want it to be like last time"

"I have a good feeling sweetheart, why don't I tell you a bit about her, she lives in Chicago, and is a lawyer. She had a lovely little dog and a nice big house with a pool"

"Does she have a husband or boyfriend?"

"No, she lives in the house herself" Kirsten said which caused Zoey to smile.

"So it would just be me and Diane"

"Yes, I really have a good feeling about this, will you give it a go and meet her. I know it's hard, but I think you will like her"

"OK, when can I see her?" Zoey asked, she was nervous and the sooner she could meet Diane the better

"I will speak to her just now, see if we can sort something out for this weekend, how does that sound"

"Great, thanks"

…

, Zach had finally got home after losing track of time and having his phone on silent in his school bag.

"Where have you been?" Alicia asked

"Sorry Mum, We lost track of time" Zach said with a sheepish look on his face

"Lost time doing what?" Rachel said laughing

"OK, your dinner is in the oven, go eat it before it is ruined, and then Auntie Diane will tell you her news" Alicia said.

Diane's phone rang and she quickly picked it up when she seen it was Kirsten. "Hello" Diane said as she walked into the hallway.

….

A few moments later Diane was in the family room with the entire Gardner Family. Zach had already finished his dinner, Alicia wasn't sure if he had eaten it or inhaled it as he was done so quickly.

"Zach, your sisters already know, but I have decided to become a foster Mother" Diane said before explaining about Zoey.

"That is really nice Auntie Diane" Zach said, he was happy for Diane, but another girl, he already had 3 sisters, and now Zoey would be like a cousin as well.

"Well, I just spoke to her social worker and I'm going to St Louis to meet Zoey tomorrow" Diane said happily.

"Can I come with you Auntie Diane?" Grace asked

"No Grace, you are grounded remember and this is time for Diane and Zoey to get to know one another. If Zoey comes to stay with Auntie Diane then you can get to meet her then" Alicia said

"Oh, OK, I just thought it would be nice for her to meet someone her own age" Grace explained.

"It was a nice thought Sweetie, but it needs to be just me tomorrow" Diane said.

Rachel and Lucy were sitting next to each other with the chips between them, both eating away. Everyone was so happy they were friends again, that was everyone except Grace. She had grown accustom to Rachel spending time with her now, and she was enjoying it. Too often she felt shoved to the side when it came to her twin sisters, she just wanted to be involved.

"Can I have some chips please?" Grace said to her older sisters

"No, you wouldn't want to get any fatter would you" Rachel said cruelly. "See it's not nice" she added when she seen Grace start to cry.

"That is enough" Alicia said

"Here Grace" Lucy said passing the packet down to her sister.

"I'm sorry Lucy" Grace said

"Let's just forget about it Grace"

"Really, you're not going to get mad at me"

"No, I just want to forget about it all" Lucy replied.

"I am so glad you girls are all friends again" Diane said.

….

**Thanks for your reviews, I hope this wasn't to depressing. OK, so I will be writing a 4****th**** of July chapter at some point. I'm not American so not really all too sure what you do. I know there are fireworks, but what other things do you do? I was thinking of having a party in the fic, like a big barbeque. **


	40. Meeting Zoey

**Thanks everyone, I have so many ideas for this fic now, and a free weekend, my 3 oldest kids are away with their Grandparents to their holiday home on the coast, and my husband is away on a Stag Weekend to Amsterdam so I have a weekend, just me and the baby and loads of time to write, That's why there has been so many updates.**

"Grace Sweetie, it's time for bed" Will said as he glanced a the clock"

"Can't I just stay up a little bit longer, it's not fair"

"No, you can go to bed and I don't think I didn't notice that I ended up doing the washing up tonight, remember that is supposed to be your job" Will said

"Yeah well Lucy took so long to finish that I had forgot by then" Grace said looking at her sister

"Grace, listen to your father, and go get ready for bed, I'll be up in 10 minutes to tuck you in"

"I don't need tucked in" Grace stayed as she stormed away upstairs

"What's eating her?" Rachel said

"I think she feels left out, now that you two are talking again" Alicia said

"Oh, well she can help us in the yard tomorrow if she wants" Lucy said

"Mum, Dad about that, now that we are friends again do we really need to do yard work tomorrow?" Rachel pleaded

Alicia looked to Will, she wouldn't mind letting the kids off, but she knew Will would have other ideas.

"Let Dad and I talk about it, you can find out in the morning. Why don't you both go upstairs? I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on" Alicia replied "Zach, you go to" she added to her only son so it was only the grownups left.

"Alicia, of course they have to do the yard work it was supposed to be a punishment" Will said

"I know, but now they are friends again"

"So, they still tried to cheat on a test, and you want to let them off"

"No, but the whole point of making them do something together was to get them to see sense, surely now their time would be better spent studying together"

"That's what they are doing on Sunday" Will said

"No, they are doing the extra credit Maths work on Sunday. They have finals coming up, they could use the time to study" Alicia said

"And it's to rain tomorrow" Diane added "But, I'm going to go, I need to drive to St Louis early tomorrow morning"

"Take highway 57" Will said "It's the quickest, and good luck, we expect a full report"

"Thanks, both of you, I couldn't have done this without you" Diane said as she left.

"So Mrs Gardner, the kids are all in there rooms, I think maybe we should spend the night in ours" Will said to which Alicia wholeheartedly agreed.

"Just let me check on Grace first, make sure she is in bed. I'll check on Zach if you take the twins" Alicia said.

Will went up to the third floor and found both of the twins in Lucy's room

"We are just going to have a sleepover in here tonight" Rachel said

"OK, so long as your not up to late, you have yard work tomorrow" he said to which the girls groaned but agreed they wouldn't be up late.

Alicia went into Graces room first; she was sitting on her bed making bracelets with the loom bands.

"Time for lights out honey" Alicia said

"Mum, Rachel and Lucy are having a sleepover in Lucy's room, and they won't let me join in"

"Well, they have a lot of catching up to do. I know it can't be fun that they are twins and you don't have a twin sister. But maybe now if Diane is going to have Zoey, the two of you can maybe have a sleepover when she has settled in"

"That sounds good" Grace said as she put the loom bands into their box. Alicia pulled the covers off of the side of Graces bed so she could climb in.

"Mum, can we have a 4th of July party?" Grace asked as she climbed into bed and Alicia tucked the bed covers in.

"I'll tell you what, if you and your brother and sisters all get at least a B in all your finals, then you can have a 4th of July party. But Grace, it means a B in every class not an average"

"Can I go and tell Rachel, Lucy and Zach"

"No, you can tell them in the morning, but all of you are going to have to study really hard finals are the week after next"

"OK Mum, I promise I will" Grace said excitedly.

Alicia kissed Grace "Good night baby" she said as she turned the lights out and closed the door behind her before going to Zach's room, she knocked his door but had no answer so opened it slightly to find he had headphones on watching what could only be described as porn on his computer.

"Mum" he shouted as he slammed the laptop shut and Alicia left the room to find Will.

"So, are we ready for date night" Will said when Alicia left Zach's room

"No, you need to speak to your son" Alicia said as she walked over to Will "He was watching porn" she whispered

"He is 14, what do you expect" Will said, to which he got a glare from Alicia

"Please talk to him Will, he will be mortified with me walking in, he clearly knows what I saw, and it's not something a boy wants him mother to see"

"OK, but go wait for me in bed, I'll be back soon"

"I'm really not in the mood now" Alicia said. Will took her face in his hands and kissed her.

"Is that getting you in the mood" he whispered

"I could do with more persuading" she replied back. Will kissed her again before placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Go get ready for bed, don't worry I'll talk to Zach" he said before Alicia went into their ensuite to freshen up and find some sexy lingerie to wear.

…..

Will wasn't sure how he wanted to play this, he didn't want to embarrass his son, but at the same time he wanted him to know that it was OK, although Alicia didn't approve she didn't really understand. She was never a teenage boy, and Will could remember going through the same feelings Zach was just now. It was different when Will was a teenager, they didn't have endless porn on the internet to watch.

"Hi, are you OK" Will said to his son who was now sitting on his bed reading a school book

"Yes fine, look Dad, I don't want to talk about what just happened"

"I know you don't but we need to, your Mum was pretty shook up, I think it shocked her"

"Yeah well I didn't expect her to come walking in"

"Son, what you are feeling is perfectly natural, but that said, the internet it's well, lets just say I don't want you looking on there for that kind of thing"

"OK, I won't"

"It's not that there was anything wrong with you, but something's on the internet can be a little hardcore, not something's you should be viewing. What would have happened if Grace had walked in?"

"I'll lock my door next time"

"No, your laptop stays downstairs from now on all of the time"

"You say it's normal, but you punish me for it, how is that fair"

"I am trying to protect you, not punish you. What you see on the internet is a fallacy, it's not realistic, and it's not what I want you to think a sexual relationship is about, also you don't know anything about the people in those videos, are they over 18? Did they consent to the video being made? And what about the material you have been watching, it probably objectifies the woman?"

"OK, I'll not watch it again"

"Zach, do you want to tell me about what you have seen, or ask me any questions?" Will asked to a wall of silence. "You don't need to be embarrassed, you can ask me anything you want and I promise I will answer you honestly".

"It's OK Dad, I don't need to ask you anything, really I'm fine"

"Good, but if you do need anything please promise me that you will talk to me"

"I will" Zach said. Will stood up and took the laptop downstairs to the kitchen where he turned it on and opened up the history. If his son wasn't going to tell him what he was watching, he would find out for himself.

…

Alicia had went for a shower and got changed, she was waiting for Will, but decided to head downstairs for some water, she put her robe on and walked downstairs where she found Will with Zach's laptop.

"Will, what are you doing?" she asked as she walked behind him and placed her arms around his neck and laid her head on his.

"Zach wouldn't tell me what he had been watching, so I'm finding out for myself"

"You didn't have an argument did you?"

"No, but he closed up, I asked him to tell me what he had seen, and he didn't"

"Are you worried?"

"Not really, it's not that bad what he's been watching"

"Good, now why don't you shut that off" Alicia said as she walked to the front of the chair Will was sitting on and opened her robe and sliding it down her shoulders and off her long slender body before straddling Wills lap.

Will shut the laptop down and took his wife's mouth in his as Alicia started to unbutton his shirt and quickly take it off.

"Alicia, upstairs" Will whispered, but Alicia ignored him and kept going with her feverish kiss.

Will placed his hands under Alicia's waist and lifted her up as he stood, her legs wrapped around his waist as their kiss continued as she was carried upstairs and into their bedroom. Will quickly locked the door and placed Alicia on the bed before he took his trousers off quickly and returned to his wife.

….

Diane woke early the next morning, she had a 4 and a half hour drive to East St Louis to meet with Zoey, she wanted to take her something, a gift, but she wasn't sure what to get her, and the shops weren't opened yet, but she didn't want Zoey to think that she was trying to get her to come and live with her by trying to buy her affection. In the end she decided to not buy a gift and instead wait to see what she was like and what she would want.

The drive should have taken 4 and a half hours, but 3 and a half hours later Diane was there, she had been speeding the whole way without even noticing. She rang the bell of the child home. It was a house about the same size as her own, but without the pool in the back yard. The door was opened by Kirsten who smiled at Diane.

"Come on in, Zoey is very excited, the kids are just finishing breakfast, and then you and Zoey can spend some time in the dining room, I can't remember if I mentioned it yesterday, but Zoey doesn't like to be touched, at least not at first she won't like to be hugged"

"That's great thanks"

Diane waited until the kids had finished breakfast and was now sitting in the Dining room waiting on Zoey, she was shocked at the number of kids who lived in this house, there were 6 tables each with 6 seats at each. It didn't take long for Kirsten to come down with Zoey. Diane fell in love with her as soon as she seen her. She had heard of parents saying of the love they had felt for their children the first time they were placed in her arms, but she never knew this could happen for a child who wasn't actually her own biologically.

"Zoey, this is Diane, the lady I was telling you about"

"Hi Zoey" Diane said, she wanted to wrap her arms around Zoey and pull her into a hug, but she didn't"

"Hi" Zoey said nervously as she sat down

"I know this must be very intimidating, but I don't want you to be nervous or scared"

"Thank you" Zoey replied

"I'm going to make tea, Diane would you like a cup?" Kirsten said

"Yes please" she replied "Just milk thanks"

"So, do you want to tell me about yourself?" Diane asked

"There isn't really much to tell, I'm 13 and I have been living here for 3 years"

"Is everyone here nice?" Diane asked

"I'm the oldest of all the kids here, when we get to 14 we go to a different home, this one is only for elementary and middle school kids"

"That must be hard being the oldest"

"It's OK, the little kids are nice, but some of the ones my age can be a pain sometimes"

"How is school?" Diane asked

"I don't really like School, everyone knows I live here, it's not very nice"

"That doesn't sound too good"

"Zoey, is there anything you want to ask me?" Diane asked as Kirsten put tea in front of both of them.

"Do you live on your own?"

"At the moment it's just me and Justice my dog"

"I like Dogs"

"I'm sure he will love you" Diane said as she pulled her phone out and swiped to a photo of him. The only one she had on her new phone was of Grace holding justice

"Was she one of your foster kids?" Zoey asked worriedly, she didn't want to go to a home where she would just be sent away again.

"No, No, this is Grace, she is one of my nieces"

"Oh, she looks pretty"

"She is, but so are you"

"Really, you think I'm pretty"

"Of course I do"

"You said she is one of your nieces, how many have you got"

"3 and one nephew" Diane replied "Rachel and Lucy are 15, Zach is 14 and Grace is 12, they are all brothers and sisters. Rachel and Lucy are twins"

The two of them continued to talk for a couple of hours about lots of different things until it was time for Lunch to be served.

"Diane, we need to use the dining room, why don't we continue this in the office. Zoey, you stay here for lunch" Kirsten said.

"Please, don't go just yet, I've been enjoying myself" Zoey said

"I'm just going to talk to Kirsten, I promise I won't go without saying goodbye" Diane said.

"She really likes you" Kirsten said as they walked through to the office

"I like her too, do you know how long before I can get her out of here if that's what she wants of course"

"She has finals next week, and then another week before school finishes up. It would probably be best to wait until at least finals are done. She is due to go to high school after summer"

"That makes sense, better finishing up at junior high here and them come to me at the start of the summer holidays, would it be possible for her to come for the weekend next week before school finished up in 2 weeks"

"That would be a lovely idea; I'll bring her up to the office after lunch and see if she would like it"

…..

The Gardner family were sitting down to breakfast, Zach was finding it difficult to look his parents in the eye after last night, especially his mother.

"So Girls, your Mum and I were discussing your yardwork today, and we thought since its so wet outside that instead you can both spend the day studying for your finals"

"Mum and Dad said if we can get a B on every exam we can have a party on 4th July"

"Really, that will be awesome" Rachel said

"Yep, so we all better get a B on everything" Grace said bossily.

"It will be a nice reward for you all if you do well on your exams" Will said.

"Can we get fireworks?" Lucy asked

"Of course, you can't have a 4th of July party without fireworks" Alicia said.

The kids all spent the day studying meaning Will and Alicia had a day to themselves. Alicia was on call for the practice for any out of hours work which she hoped was going to be minimal.

….

Kirsten brought Zoey into her office after Lunch

"Take a seat Zoey" Kirsten said as Zoey at on the sofa next to Diane.

"Zoey, you don't have to decide straight away, but how would you like to for Diane to be your Foster Mother"

"I'd really like that" Zoey said smiling, to which Diane smiled in return.

"Can I go now?" Zoey asked

"I discussed this with Kirsten, and you can move in with me 2 weeks today, just so you can finish up school first"

"OK, I really can't wait" Zoey said

"But I thought maybe if you wanted you could come to mines for the weekend next weekend?"

"Yes please, I wish it was next week already, I finish school at 12 on a Friday"

"Well, I'll pick you here at 12 exactly, and we can have a lovely weekend together" Diane said. They spent some more time talking before it was time for Diane to go home.

**Please Review**


	41. Study day

**Thank you for your kind reviews. Kids are now back home, so this is just a little short update **

"Mum, can I bake a cake?" Grace asked, she and the rest of her siblings were all sitting at the dinning room table studying.

"I thought you were going to spend the day studying" Alicia said

"It's getting boring now" Grace replied

"Grace it's been half an hour since breakfast, and you want this party don't you"

"Yes" Grace replied as she found her way back to her History book

"What are you reading?" Alicia asked

"It's about the American presidents" Grace replied

"OK, if you can study to lunchtime and then I will quiz you, if you get most of the answers right you can bake a cake, is that a deal"

"OK Deal" Grace replied as she went back to her book this time to pay more attention.

Grace was always the kid who hated homework and studying, Rachel did too, but now Rachel was old enough to know the consequences of not passing her exams. Both Rachel and Lucy would be sitting their PSAT this year before the school breaks up.

Alicia's phone rang, she recognised the number as on of the ASA's for Chicago, this wasn't the kind of phone call she was hoping for on a Saturday Morning.

"What's wrong?" Will asked as he came into the kitchen, he heard Alicia on the phone and she was getting ready to go out.

"Colin Sweeny has been arrested; there was a body of a young woman found in his house this morning"

"I'll go, I don't like the way he looks at you" Will said

"Will, he is harmless and he likes me"

"He liked his wife didn't he and look what happened to her, no you stay here, I will go and deal with Mr Sweeny"

"He is my client Will" Alicia said

"I'm going" Will said with authority he did not like or trust Colin Sweeny one bit.

"What was that all about?" Rachel asked looking up from her book

"Your Father being protective"

"Isn't Colin Sweeny the guy that murdered his wife and then you got him off with it?" Lucy asked

"He was found innocent Lucy" Alicia said

"But everyone knows he done it" Lucy replied.

Lucy was a sweet girl and she really struggled with the morality of getting paid to get people off with murder. Will and Alicia had tried to explain it to her before, but she just didn't understand.

"OK, that is enough talk of Colin Sweeny, does anybody need any help or doesn't understand anything that you are reading" Alicia asked her kids desperate to change the subject. Zach was staring at his book and hadn't looked at or said a word to Alicia all morning.

"I'm fine Mum, unless you want to explain to me when in life I will ever need to know algebra" Rachel said

"You still need to learn it" Alicia replied, "Zach, can I have a word in the other room"

"I'm studying" Zach replied without looking up at his mother.

"I won't ask you again Young Man" Alicia said as she walked into the family room

"I don't know what you have done, but Mum is mad" Rachel said to her brother

"Yeah, you had better go" Lucy replied.

Zach put his book down, and followed his mother into the family room.

"Sit down" Alicia said as he came into the room, she walked over the doors that connect the family room to the dinning room and opened them to find her daughters leaning against them trying to eavesdrop on there brother and mother.

"This does not concern you, go and sit down at the table" she said.

"Zach, I am not angry about last night, I just did not expect to see what I saw, but I don't want things to be awkward between us"

"Things are fine between us" he replied

"Really, because you haven't looked at me or said a word to me all morning, and I'm sorry I got angry in the kitchen, you know I like you to do things when I ask and not have to ask a few times"

"Mum, can we just forget about what happened last night, one of the guys just sent me a link and I clicked on it, I didn't know it was porn" he lied.

"OK, just be more careful on what you click on from now on. Off you go back to study"

Zach went back to the Dining room, to sit with his sisters who had clearly been listening in to his conversation with his mother.

"Does Sophia know you watch porn?" Rachel asked

"What, I don't it was one video someone sent me, I didn't know that's what it was"

"Yeah right, There is nothing wrong with it Zach, you should see the stuff Mike has on his phone" Rachel said as Lucy tensed up at the sound of her ex-boyfriends name.

"I never knew that" Lucy said

"I found it when I was borrowing his phone to go on facebook since Dad took mines off me"

"I thought you didn't have facebook anymore" Lucy said

"I didn't I deleted it, but I used someone else's phone to re activate it"

"You know Dad has my phone and it's logged into my facebook, he checks it everyday to see if there were any nasty comments."

"He hasn't noticed" Rachel said happily "But you should ask for your phone back now" she added

"I will, I'll ask him tonight" Lucy replied.

…

Diane called Alicia from the car on her long journey home; she was so happy and had to tell her all about her day. She couldn't wait for next week to spend the weekend with Zoey.

"I'm guessing everything is all quiet today if you're at home?" Diane asked

"Not quiet, Colin Sweeny has been arrested, a body was found in his house, I got a call a couple of hours ago, but Will insisted on going, he doesn't like the way Mr Sweeny looks at me"

"I'm not surprised Alicia, but don't worry your not the only one. Years ago when we first formed the business before you joined, the kids were only young, I think you were pregnant with Grace, I had a client a sex offender, he used to try and flirt with me, it made me very uneasy. Will didn't like it and took over his defence. I thought I was angry at the time that he was trying to steal my clients, but it was nothing like that, he was just being protective and looking out for me"

"I know he is, it's just frustrating sometimes"

"He loves you, you're lucky to have him" Diane said

"I know, he is an amazing husband and father" Alicia replied.

….

Will had come home from the police station; they couldn't get a bail hearing till Monday morning so Colin Sweeny would be in prison till then at least. Kalinda was already on the job trying to investigate what really happened

"Dad, I made a cake" Grace said as she placed it on the coffee table in front of her father.

"Were you not supposed to be studying today?" Will asked

"I did, all morning, then Mum quizzed me on it and I got every question right, so she let me make a cake"

"Well how about we go in and make tea and enjoy some cake" Will said tickling his youngest daughter in the ribs.

"OK" she giggled

"Tea is on its way" Alicia said popping her head through the door

"Why don't you two take a break, you have been at it all day" Alicia said to the twins. Zach had given up with the studying just after lunch and was now out with his friends.

"OK Mum" Rachel said, she didn't need to be told twice to stop studying.

"Just let me finish this chapter" Lucy said.

"Go into the family room for some of Graces cake" Alicia said.

"My head hurts from studying so much" Rachel said as she sat next to her Dad and gave him a cuddle.

"It will all pay off in the end" Will replied

"Hi Dad" Lucy said as she came in carrying her English book

"Its family time now sweetie, go put the book away, you need a break" he said,

"But, I need to read it" Lucy replied

"You have already read it 3 times" Rachel replied

"You need a break as well, come and have some cake, and then we can have PJ and movie night" Will said

"That sounds like a good idea, we haven't done PJ and movie night in so long" Alicia said

"Can we watch frozen?" Grace asked

"I don't think Zach will want to watch frozen, how about jaws" Alicia replied

"As long as I can sit next to Dad" Grace replied.

…..

Zach came home just before dinner, the family all went to get ready for bed and came back downstairs. Alicia brought out the blankets they kept for movie nights and Will ordered pizza for dinner. This was one of the few times when they were allowed to eat dinner in front of the TV and not at the dining room or kitchen table. Halfway through the movie Alicia brought out some popcorn for them all to eat and refilled everyone's drinks.

**Please Review, I will try and get another update done through the week, but school starts back this week, which means back to work for me ****L**


	42. I'm a Vegetarian

**I wrote this last night and forgot to post it, woops, but had to go back to work today after 6 weeks off, so updates may slow slightly**

Jaws had finished, and Grace was now upstairs in bed, Alicia was up saying good night to her. Rachel had gone up to wash her hair and Zach was in his room.

"Dad, I was wondering if I could have my phone back, I haven't had it for ages, and I'd like to have a look on facebook"

"You can have it back, but I want you to go get your laptop for me first, we need to have a discussion about facebook, don't worry I will be having this conversation with Zach and Rachel when she gets hers back" Will replied. Lucy got up and went into her Dad's office where her laptop had been since Tuesday.

"OK, open it up and log onto facebook" Will said and Lucy obliged happily for her Dad.

"So, we need to have a look at your privacy settings" Will said as he went into the account setting and was shocked to find Lucy's facebook was public.

"I have changed it to private, and that's the way it's to stay, do you understand"

"Yes, I didn't realise it wasn't before" Lucy replied suddenly feeling very stupid

"Now, I have changed a few other settings, now no one can tag you in a photo, status or comment without your approval first" Will said

"Thanks Dad"

"And lastly, I want to go through your friends list and see exactly who you are friends with, anyone on here that you don't know or anyone who was bullying you are to be deleted" Will said as he opened Lucy's friends list, the first thing he noticed was Rachel was a friend.

"RACHEL ISOBEL GARDNER COME DOWNSTAIRS RIGHT NOW" Will shouted from the bottom of the stairs

"Oh no, he used my full name" Rachel thought to herself knowing she was in trouble for something. She knew better than to make her Dad wait, she quickly ran downstairs her hair still wet and tangled, she hadn't even had a chance to comb it through yet.

"Hi Dad, what's wrong?" Rachel said as Alicia came into the room.

"Will, what is going on, Grace was just about sleeping when you shouted, now she is wide awake" Alicia reprimanded her husband.

"Rachel defying me is what is wrong, I told you to delete your facebook, and here it is still active" Will said pointing to Lucy's laptop.

"I didn't defy you, I deactivated my facebook like you said, but then I kind of activated it again, you should have been more specific in your instruction"

"Well you shouldn't have, I have your laptop and your phone how did you manage"

"I used someone in schools phone; I was going to ask you about that actually, when can I get my phone back"

"I was going to give you it back today, but I don't think you deserve it back" Will replied.

"Rachel, go and dry your hair" Alicia said "Lucy go up with your sister, leave your phone and laptop here, you can get it back in the morning" she added.

"Thanks Mum" Rachel said as she walked to the door

"Oh no, don't thank me, you are still in trouble young lady, I am very angry with you, I just need to discuss this with your father"

"How did he find out" Rachel whispered to Lucy as they left the room

"Dad went through my friends list on facebook, he wants me to go and delete anyone I don't know or anyone who was bullying me"

"Oh, I just wish I would stop getting into trouble" Rachel said

"Maybe we just need to have a couple of quiet weeks, no parties, no trouble and no drama" Lucy said

"Yeah, but that's boring" Rachel replied giggling.

….

"Where are we with Rachel, how long has she got left being grounded?" Will asked

"A week on Tuesday" Alicia replied

"Well, I propose we extend that till the Friday the day the schools finish up, she can get her phone back then" Will suggested

"I'm just worried that we keep grounding her, and she still gets in trouble, there is no point to it if she doesn't learn" Alicia said.

"She will learn from it, she is just a lot tougher to crack than the other kids"

"I just don't want her to hate us for it"

"My Father always said, you were never truly a parent until your kids said they hated you" Will said "You know they don't really hate us, they just hate the punishment, but I promise they will love us"

"I know what you say makes sense, I guess my parents were just so laid back, I was never grounded, never punished in anyway"

"I know, and haven't you always complained that you never felt close to your Mother, I don't want our Children to be scared of us, but they have to respect our rules and if they break them, or defy us like Rachel has then she deserves to be punished"

"I know your right Will"

"And it's only an extra 3 days; she will miss the summer formal though"

"Oh no, can't we let her go to the dance"

"OK, she can go to the dance, but no after party" Will compromised as Alicia kissed him.

…

It was soon Monday night; Lucy was getting ready for her first day back at school and was a little nervous. Rachel had cheerleading tryouts, the school didn't allow Freshman or Sophomores' to be on the team, so tryouts were held the last few weeks before the holidays broke up for Sophomores' and Juniors who would be on next years team. The reason for this was so they could practice during the school holidays and be ready for the season to start when school went back. Rachel was nervous about this, she wanted to be popular more than anything and to be on the cheerleading team would really help with this.

"Lucy honey, can you eat some more?" Alicia asked her daughter

"I'm just a little nervous about today"

"If anyone bothers you, then you go to Mrs Murray" Will said

"No one will bother you, I've got your back" Rachel said

"Thanks Rach"

They quickly finished breakfast and head off to school. They day went well to start with, no one bothered Lucy until lunch time when she bumped into Kelly

"So if isn't the little virgin" Kelly said, the rumours had been working overtime as to why Mike was with Rachel now and not Lucy and the best reason was that she wouldn't put out. Rachel and Mike hadn't slept together, at least not yet, but she had promised that the after party after the formal would be the night she would; unfortunately she wasn't allowed to go. She told Mike yesterday, and he had suggested that instead of going to the dance that she just go to his house to which she agreed.

Lucy ignored Kelly, walked straight by her to the dining hall and found her sister with Abbey; she sat next to her hoping they wouldn't mind.

"Do you guys mind if I join you?"

"Course not" Rachel said to a glare from Abbey

"Thanks" she replied as Rachel started to tell them about tryouts earlier that day which had went well and her plan for the formal next week and how she was going to meet Mike. Lucy still felt uncomfortable with her sister and ex-boyfriend being an item.

"You know, if you get caught Mum and Dad are going to throw a fit"

"I won't get caught, not this time"

"OK, if you say so, but be careful, I'm too young to be an aunt"

"That's something I need you to do for me, I'm grounded so I can't, can you go to the Doctor and get some birth control"

"No way, don't they have to do an exam or something, I'll come with you to the doctors, but I won't go for you"

"But how do I get to the doctor?"

"You could always ditch school and go" Abbey said

"Bad idea, if you get caught….."

"Lucy will you lighten up, we won't get caught" Abbey said

"I can't come, it's my first day back after being suspended, Rach, you understand don't you"

"Yeah, I understand, look don't worry, Abbey and I will go, but can I borrow your phone to call the Dr for an appointment"

"Yeah, sure" Lucy said passing her phone to her sister.

….

Alicia was making dinner and the kids were all home, she had already heard how Lucy's first day went and how cheerleading trials had gone, Grace came downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Is all your homework done?" Alicia asked Grace

"Yeah, Mum, I just want to tell you, I have decided to be a vegetarian, I don't think it's nice to eat animals"

"Grace, I am making chicken lasagne"

"I don't want it, can you make me something else"

"Please would be nice" Alicia said reminding her daughter of her manners.

"Please Mum"

"OK Grace, I will make you something else, but if you are serious about being vegetarian I presume you won't want those new ugg's anymore"

"I still want them, why wouldn't I?"

"They are suede, make of leather, as in cow skin" Alicia said

"Eww, no I don't want them" she said as she went upstairs.

….

"How did you get on at the doctors?" Lucy asked Rachel, they were sitting in Rachel's room doing French homework

"Good, I got birth control, but I can't take them until the end of my next period"

"So, you won't be sleeping with Mike next week"

"Yeah, we will just use a condom, Lucy are you really OK with me and Mike?"

"Yeah fine, but promise me you will be careful"

"I will, I'm so excited"

"Are you going to talk to Mum first, she always said to tell her before we ever have sex" Lucy said

"No way, she will only try and stop me"

….

Will drove his BMW into the driveway and walked into the house, he was in a good mood and had just won in court, he made his way into the kitchen and placed his arms around his wife

"Good Evening" he said before kissing Alicia's neck and up to her ear

"Oh someone's in a good mood" she replied

"The best, what are the kids doing?"

"All in there bedrooms" Alicia replied

"OK, lets go to ours, I can be quick" Will said

"Not to quick I hope" Alicia replied as they raced upstairs and locked their door.

….

Alicia fixed her clothes and went back downstairs to the kitchen while Will cooled down, she quickly through together a boring salad for Grace, she was hoping to stop this vegetarian phase as quickly as possible.

"DINNERS READY" Alicia shouted, and the kids and Will were soon downstairs

"Grace, I made you a cheese salad" Alicia said as she placed it in front of her daughter who didn't look too impressed with it"

"Mum, can I not have a vegetarian lasagne?"

"No Grace, you told me whilst I was making dinner that you were vegetarian, you can have a salad, if you are serious about this then I will make you a different meal from the rest of us, but you need to read up on it, make sure you are getting enough protein and all your vitamins and minerals" Alicia said

"Since when are you a vegetarian, you had bacon on your pancakes today?" Will asked.

"Since an hour ago"

"You won't last Grace, no more McDonalds, or ribs" Rachel said

"I couldn't do it" Zach said

"Well, I will, see I'll eat my salad whilst you all eat a murdered chicken" Grace shouted back.

…

"So how long do you think Graces venture into being a vegetarian will go?" Alicia asked. The day had ended and everyone was in bed, Alicia was lying next to Will with her head resting in the crook between his arm and chest as one of her hands gently stroked his chest, Wills let arm was under Alicia and wrapped around her resting between her stomach and chest.

"I give it till Friday" Will said laughing

"I hope so; I really don't have time to make 2 meals every night"

"I'll make dinner tomorrow night" Will suggested

"You might need to, I have a meeting at 5pm and then I will pick Lucy up from Drama club, can you take her, she is to be there at 4:30pm"

"I'll take Lucy, the quicker we get the twins driving the better"

"They had driver's education a couple of weeks ago"

"I'll book them into some more lessons tomorrow and take them the day after school breaks up, who is your meeting with?" Will asked

"Colin Sweeny" Alicia responded knowing Will wouldn't like that answer "But, I'm taking Cary with me, so don't panic"

"OK, just make sure Cary is with you, I'll speak to Cary tomorrow"

"Will, I don't need protecting from Colin Sweeny" Alicia said again

"I don't like the way he looks at you, it's like he is trying to undress you in his mind" Will responded

"Don't be so silly, I'm not his type, look really there is no need to worry, you just come home and make dinner for the kids, Grace has her English and Maths exams tomorrow so quiz her on that when she gets home, I really hope she does well"

"Do you think they will all get at least a B in everything?" Will asked

"They are capable of it, Zach and Lucy I don't think there will be any trouble with, and Rachel has been studying pretty hard this year. I think the party incentive is working wonders for Grace, but still she doesn't have the attention span to study, she wanted to bake a cake after less than half an hour"

"She is 12 she just needs to grow up a little more and it will come" Will said as his fingers slowly traced around Alicia's belly button.

"Are we going for round 2 tonight?" he whispered seductively

…..

Friday soon arrived, Diane was nervous, but excited that Zoey would be spending the weekend, she had taken the day off to drive to St Louis to pick Zoey up, she arrived at the home at 12:15 and Zoey had just got home from school. Kirsten had shown Diane up to the room where Zoey slept to help her finish her packing. It was a fairly small room, in fact smaller than Zoey's new bedroom in her house and there were 6 kids who slept here, with 3 sets of bunk beds. Diane was slightly worried; she didn't seem as chirpy as she was last week.

"Is there anything else you need to pack?" Diane asked

"No, this is all I have" she said

"Zoey, are you OK, do you want to come stay at mines?"

"I do, but you might not want me now" Zoey said

"Why would you think that" Diane said as she sat next to her, she wanted to place her arm around her but held herself back.

"I didn't do well on my finals, my teachers said I might need to repeat grade 8, I'm so stupid"

"No, your not stupid and repeating grade 8 won't be so bad. Think of it as a fresh start, no one needs to know your repeating the grade and just think, it will give us an extra year together before you go to college" Diane said thinking of the benefits"

"But what if I fail again"

"You won't, it sound like you didn't have a great time at school here, and I will make sure you go to a great school and can help you, even if it means we need to sit every night to do your homework"

"Thank you, I thought you might have changed your mind about me"

"I haven't changed my mind one bit, and now you will be in Graces year, so you will know someone before you start"

"That sounds nice"

"How about we get out of here and head home" Diane said to which Zoey agreed.

Before they left Diane had a quick meeting with Kirsten who explained about Zoey repeating a grade. Diane had asked for her transcript to be sent to Capstone middle school where she called to set up a meeting on Monday to enrol Zoey.

"That's all the boring stuff done" Diane said as she met Zoey outside "Let's get out of here"

"I love your Car" Zoey said as she got into Diane's Porsche

"Thank you, I have another car at home, depends what mood I'm in as to which one I drive"

Zoey giggled, this was going to be fun.

They spent the whole 4 hours talking to each other and getting to know each other, Zoey really liked Diane and was getting more and more excited as they approached her house.

"That's us home" Diane said as she pressed the button on her key fob to open the gates.

"Wow, this is a mansion" Zoey exclaimed excitedly to which Diane smiled.

"How about we show you your room" Diane said. They got into the house and Justice excitedly started to jump on Diane.

"Down Justice" Diane said, she looked round and Justice was lying on her back with Zoey rubbing her belly.

"I think he likes you" Diane said to get a smile from Zoey.

"So, this is the formal living room, we don't use it very often, just when we have guests" Diane said as she walked through to the formal dining room "Again, this room isn't used very often either, I normally just eat in the kitchen, which is through here"

"It's huge" Zoey exclaimed

Diane took Zoey through to the family room, with a large TV, stereo and lots of big comfy sofa's "This is the room where we will spend most of our time, the TiVo box is over here, I don't have a play station or x box, but if you like we can get one and the there is a bathroom across the hall"

"It's OK, I've never had one before" Zoey exclaimed. They made their way upstairs to where Diane's office and the bedrooms. "This is my room over here" Diane said as she opened the door, Diane's room was white with purple furnishings, she had a king size bed in the centre of the room with a dressing room and ensuite bathroom.

"Wow, its amazing" Zoey said

"How about I show you the two rooms, you can pick whichever one you want, although I think you'll want this room" Diane said as she opened the door. It was smaller than Diane's room but not by much, there was a queen-size bed in the middle of the room, an ensuit bathroom, large built in wardrobe and a desk next to the window with a purple laptop sitting on top. There was also a bookshelf which at the moment was empty and a door that lead out to the balcony.

"I love this room, is it all for me?"

"Of course it's all yours, I'll show you the other room and you can decide" Diane said as they walked through to the other room. It wasn't as big, had an ensuite and a dressing room, but no balcony.

"I like the other room better" Zoey said honestly, so they walked back through to see it, it wasn't until then that Zoey noticed the laptop

"You have left your laptop here" Zoey said

"It's not mines, it's for you"

"Really, Thank You so much, I've never had my own computer before"

"Well now you do, but there will be some rules before you go online, but we can go through them later" Diane said, she wanted to speak to Alicia and Will, she knew they had rules for the kids about what they were and weren't allowed to do online, although Alicia had told her about Zach the other day, and she knew all about the Twins and the facebook fiasco.

"OK" Zoey said as she walked over to the bookshelf

"I don't have any books" Zoey said looking at the massive bookshelf

"Kirsten said you liked to read, so we can go book shopping one day if you would like, and you don't need to fill the whole thing with books, you can put CD's and DVDs on it too." Diane said

"OK" Zoey replied back she was slightly overwhelmed with all her new things, she had never felt so lucky.

"Why don't you unpack and get settled, I'll just be in my office which is at the other end of the hall" Diane said as she walked into her office and pulled out one of her briefs, she sat at her desk and Justice quickly jumped onto her lap"

"Zoey put her clothes into her wardrobe, she didn't really have much else, he had brought some shower gel and some shampoo and conditioner which she placed in her bathroom. She lay on the bed and closed her eyes, she wasn't used to the peace and quiet, and living in a house with 30 kids meant there was never this quietness. She found it quiet difficult and felt uneasy. She got up from the bed and quietly walked through to Diane's office.

"Is everything OK, are you hungry?" Diane asked, they had stopped off for Lunch on the way home to a small diner just off the highway, but that was a few hours ago.

"No, it's just so quiet"

"You don't have to if you don't want to, but how would you like to go visit, Grace, Zach, Lucy and Rachel tonight?"

"Can we?" Zoey asked excitedly

"Sure we can, she invited us, but I wasn't sure if you would be up for it or not"

"I'd like to go, I want to meet Grace" Zoey said.

"What are you reading?" Zoey asked as Diane pushed her glasses back up her nose.

"It's about a case for work, someone got into trouble with the police and they want us to help them prove they didn't do it"

"What did they do?" Zoey asked

"They killed someone" Diane explained "But they say they didn't do it, so now, we need to look for evidence to try and prove they didn't do it"

"What if you don't find evidence does that mean that they did it"

"Possibly, but for us to do our job we need to look really hard at all the information we have because we don't want someone innocent to go to jail"

"I hope you find something to save them from jail, but if they really did it, then they should go to jail"

"That is why all the evidence has to go in front of a jury, it's the jury who decide, now I tell you what, why don't you go and watch some TV, and Ill just finish up here then we can head to Alicia and Will's for dinner"

"OK" Zoey said as she walked downstairs to the family room and put the TV on. It wasn't often that she got the TV to herself, she put on Wizards of Waverly place and at watching it in peace. Maybe this would be good, no kids stealing the remote off her and complete control of the TV.

**Please Review, **


	43. Windows and Bricks

**Thank you for your kind reviews. Sorry the updates are going to slow, Summer holidays are over, I'm back at work and my 3 eldest kids are back at school.**

"Hi Auntie Diane" Grace shouted as she ran downstairs and threw herself into Diane's arms for a hug.

"Hi Sweetie" Diane replied.

Alicia had just opened the door when Grace came hurtling down stairs.

"Zoey, do you want to come see my room" Grace said excitedly, "We can make loom bands" she added quickly.

"Grace, let Zoey come in and meet everyone first" Alicia said. They went into the family room and sat on the sofas and chairs, where the twins were sitting watching MTV.

"Zoey, this is Lucy and Rachel" Diane said as both her God daughters gave her a hug"

"Hi" Zoey replied back shyly, she wasn't used to older kids

"Are you enjoying your time with Auntie Diane?" Lucy asked

"Yeah, her house is so cool" Zoey replied

"Where are Will and Zach?" Diane asked

"Will is still in court would you believe, emergency plea bargain, and Zach should be home shortly, he is out with Sophia, he brought her round earlier to meet, she seems like a lovely girl" Alicia replied.

"Can Zoey and I go to my room now?" Grace asked again.

"If Zoey wants to then you can until dinners ready" Alicia said.

"Do you want to Zoey?" Grace asked. Zoey agreed not wanting to spend the whole time with the adults and she liked Grace.

"Yes please" she said and the 2 younger girls ran upstairs.

….

Zach was with Sophia, he really liked her, and especially her dare devil ways. Sophia liked to fly in the wind; she wasn't scared of getting into trouble and like to live on the edge. She was a thrill seeker, and couldn't wait for her 14th birthday in a few weeks when she could bungee jump, she was hoping for that as a gift.

Sophia liked to do things that could get her into trouble; she didn't do it out of badness, but rather for the excitement. Zach had only met Kalinda a few times, but Sophia reminded him of Kalinda in that respect. Last week when he was late home for dinner it was because he and Sophia had been hanging out in an old abandoned house, tonight she had taken him to an old greenhouse on the outskirts of the suburbs. She put her hood up and picked up a large stone and threw it at the greenhouse smashing one of the windows.

"It's so much fun" she said to Zach who picked up a rock and threw it too.

"Your right it is" he replied. He knew it was wrong, but he wasn't hurting anyone, the greenhouse had been lying abandoned for years there were already some broken windows. Suddenly Sophia started to run, Zach wondered why until he turned around and was face by an angry looking police man.

…..

Will got home from work and greeted his wife with a deep kiss and Diane with a peck on the cheek to congratulate her on her first night as a Mum.

"Where are the kids?" Will asked.

"Lucy and Rachel are in the family room, they are supposed to be studying, but they are watching MTV, Grace and Zoey are upstairs making loom bands and Zach isn't home yet" Alicia said as she glanced at her watch, he should have been home an hour ago.

"Call Zach, I'm going to say hello to the girls" Will said

"Can you ask them to come through for dinner; Zach's will need to wait"

Will went into the family room first to greet his eldest daughters.

"How was school?" he asked as he gave each of them a hug

"Good" Lucy said

"Boring" Rachel replied

"How was your driving lessons?" he asked

"Good Dad, I got to drive all the way to drama club, and then Rachel had a turn when I was in drama club then I got to drive home" Lucy said

"Good, so do you think you will both be ready for your test next Saturday" Will said pulling out the booking forms.

"Really, next week" they both shouted excitedly wrapping there arms around him.

"Mum's got dinner ready, can you go through and set the table" Will ordered, the girls got up and went through and Will went upstairs to Graces room, he knocked on the door until Grace opened it.

"Hi Daddy" Grace shouted as she wrapped her arms around him. Zoey wasn't sure what to do, she just smiled.

"Hi Zoey, have you been having a nice time" Will asked

"Yes Sir" she replied politely

"You can just call me Will you don't have to be so formal" he replied.

"Mum said dinner is ready so do you want to clear up here and to downstairs" he said as he left the room.

"You could call my Mum and Dad, Aunt and Uncle if you want, they won't mind, I think they would like it. My Dad doesn't have any brothers or sisters and Uncle Owen won't have kids, he is Gay" Grace said

"He might adopt" Zoey replied

"Nah, he's too much of a kid himself, they wouldn't trust him with a kid" Grace joked even though her Uncle was a well respected College professor, to Grace he was just cool Uncle Owen

"I don't know what to call Diane?" Zoey said

"You could call her Mum, she would like that"

"Is that not a bit weird though? She isn't my Mum"

"It's only weird if you make it weird. Auntie Diane is the best; she will be an amazing Mum. She is the coolest Aunt ever"

"She does seem really cool" Zoey said as they got down to the kitchen.

"Yep, she takes up cool places, buys us presents we don't need and when she babysits she sometimes lets us stay up late"

"Girls do any of you know where your Brother is?" Alicia asked as there was no answer on his phone, she gave Grace her vegetable pasta and everyone else ribs and salad.

"Sorry No" they all replied.

"You could always track his phone, you would if it was us" Rachel said to her father

"I was worried about you, you were supposed to be in school and you weren't" Will said defending his actions, he was about to speak again when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it" Grace shouted as she sprang from her seat and answered the door to find her brother and a policeman. Graces eyes opened wide, "jackpot" she thought to herself Zach was going to be in so much trouble and she was hoping to watch it.

"Are your parent's home?" The policeman asked

"MUM, DAD!" Grace shouted without taking her eyes off her brother and the officer.

"Grace go back into the kitchen and finish your dinner" Will said as he watched his daughter reluctantly leave to go to the kitchen.

"Officer, Will Gardner, Zach's father, is there a problem?"

"Yes, Officer Barlow, and this is Officer Platt, we caught Zach here vandalising a Greenhouse, he and another child were throwing rocks at a greenhouse, the other kid got away"

"Was anyone hurt?" Will asked

"No, there was no one around"

Grace had walked into the kitchen to find her Mother, Diane, Zoey and her siblings oblivious to what was going on, they were happily chatting and eating.

"Who was it Grace?" Alicia asked

"The Police, with Zach" she replied. Alicia got up and walked out to the front door.

"Zach, are you OK" Alicia said as soon as she walked out thinking that something had happened to him.

"He won't be when I'm finished with him, go and wait in the family room" Will ordered

"Sorry" Zach muttered to the policeman and head off to the family room.

"Zach was caught vandalising a greenhouse by throwing rocks at it"

"Zach are you sure he wasn't in the wrong place at the wrong time, that is so unlike him" Alicia said

"Seen it with my own eyes Ma'am" Officer Barlow replied "Luckily the Greenhouse is abandoned so no one will be pressing charges, but next time he might not be so lucky"

"There won't be a next time, I can assure you of that" Will said before he thanked the officers and they left.

Diane placed Will and Alicia's dinner into the oven next to Zach's to keep it warm before returning to her seat.

"Didn't you hear anything else Grace?" Rachel asked.

"Just something about Zach and vandalising, but I didn't hear what" Grace replied

"He is going to be in so much trouble, Zach is a vandaliser" Rachel replied

"Vandaliser? There is no such word" Lucy replied laughing

"Yes, someone who vandalises" Rachel replied looking to Diane

"They are called Vandals Dear," Diane told her niece

"Dad is going to go off on one" Grace said

"All right Girls, that's enough, just eat your dinner" Diane said as she noticed the discomfort in Zoey's eyes.

"Diane, will Will hit Zach?" Zoey asked worriedly.

"No Darling, I promise he won't" Diane replied

"Mum and Dad don't hit us" Lucy replied gently as she could sense the worry "They will be angry and might shout a bit, but they won't hit him"

"OK" Zoey replied feeling better.

"How about we go upstairs listen to music and, we can paint your nails can't we Rach?" Lucy said

"Yeah, and curl your hair if you want" Rachel replied

"What about me, will you paint my nails?" Grace asked

"Sure" Lucy replied.

….

"I have never been so embarrassed in my life" Alicia said walking into the living room.

"So what do you have to say for yourself?" Will asked angrily

"I'm sorry Dad"

"Do you hear that Alicia, he is sorry, although I don't believe you"

"Zach, why would you do such a thing?" Alicia asked, "It's so pointless and such destructive behaviour, it's not like you"

"Who was the other kid you were with?" Will asked "Officer Barlow said there was another kid, he ran off before you"

"Just someone from school you don't know them" Zach said not wanting to get anyone into trouble

"Well I'd like to know them, what's there phone number so I can call there parents?" Alicia asked

"I don't know, they just moved here"

"Well, you're not to see them again" Will said

"You're not going to have any opportunity to, your grounded, your beyond grounded, no TV, no computer, no phone!" Alicia said.

Zach didn't argue, he knew there was no use, and he had no excuses.

"Your dinner is in the oven, go get it, and then straight to your room we will talk about this tomorrow and give me your phone" Alicia said. Zach didn't have to be told twice to leave; he handed his phone to his mother and hurried into the kitchen to find Diane cleaning up.

"Hi Zach, do you want your dinner out" Diane asked

"Yes please"

Diane took it out the oven and placed it in front of her nephew.

"Is everything OK?" She asked

"Mum and Dad are furious, I threw some bricks at a greenhouse, but it was abandoned and no one was anywhere near it, the police said no one will press charges."

"Zach do you know what the maximum sentence is for Criminal damage"

"No"

"Well it depends, if you caused less than $300 worth of damage its 1 year in jail or a fine of $2500 dollars"

"Really"

"Oh yeah, so you see your Mum and Dad being furious with you could have been the least of your worries.

"What if it was more than $300 worth?" Zach asked out of curiosity, he knew he had definitely caused more than $300 worth of damage

"Well less than $10 000 would be a class 4 felony which is 3 years in a state penitentiary and a fine of up to $25000"

"But that would be if I was over 18? Right!" Zach asked worriedly.

"Yes, but being 14 doesn't give you a right to go around damaging peoples property." Diane replied crossly

"I know it was wrong, I just hope no one presses charges"

"No, neither do I, but I hope you learnt your lesson" Diane said.

"I have, I'm going to my room, Mum and Dad said to go there after dinner" Zach said, he ran upstairs and went to his sisters room,

…..

"Here, try this on" Rachel said to Zoey as she handed her a dress "The bathrooms through there". Zoey went through to the bathroom and quickly put the dress on, her finger and toenails had already been pained a lovely coral shade of pink and Rachel had curled her hair, she was now doing the same to Grace.

"Wow, you look beautiful" Lucy replied as Zoey came out.

"Thank You, I haven't worn a dress in years"

"It looks good on you, keep it if you want, its too small for me now" Rachel said to a stare from Grace

"But I thought I was getting it" Grace whined

"Chill Grace, I have the same dress, you can have mines" Lucy replied to a smile from her younger sister. Lucy was painting her nails lilac when Zach walked into the room.

"I thought you would still be getting lectured" Rachel said to her brother

"I think they don't know what to say, they told me to have dinner and go to my room, Hi Zoey, are you having fun?"

"Yes" Zoey replied

"And yet your in my room" Rachel said

"I need to borrow a phone" Zach said

"I still don't have mines" Rachel said as Lucy through hers on to the bed for her brother.

"Don't get caught" Lucy replied as Zach quickly called Sophia and ran into Lucys room for privacy.

"Who do you think he was with?" Grace asked

"I think he was with Sophia, last year in middle school when she was in grade 8 and I was grade 6 she wrote graffiti in the girls toilets, I remember she had to clean it all off" Grace explained

"Sounds plausible Grace" Lucy said.

…..

Alicia and Will went into the kitchen to get their dinner.

"Sorry about this Diane, this isn't what you were expecting tonight, is Zach in his room" Alicia said

"Don't worry about it, although Zoey was a little scared, she thought you might hit Zach, he has gone upto his room"

"Poor kid" Will said "Doesn't sound like she has had good adult rolemodels"

"No, she doesn't like to be touched, I just feel like she is nervous of me, as if she can't trust me"

"She needs time, and both of you need to get to know one another"

"Diane, do you want me to talk to Zoey, make her know I wouldn't hurt the kids"

"No, its OK, I'll talk to her, the girls helped her, I think she would confide in them if anything was wrong" Diane said

"I'm going to go up and see how they are getting on" Diane said as she went upstairs to the twin's room, she knew they were in one of them.

"Hi Girls" Diane said as she walked into Rachel's room at the same time as Zach came in from the other side

"Thanks Lucy" Zach said passing the phone over without seeing Diane.

"I thought you were supposed to be in your room Young Man" Diane stated as she glared at Zach.

"I was just going" he replied as he moved out of the room and downstairs to his own.

"Are you having a good time Zoey?" Diane asked

"Yes, Rachel painted my nails and Lucy curled my hair and Rachel gave me this dress"

"Wow you look beautiful, and your nails are really pretty" Diane said

"Do you like my nails Auntie Diane?" Grace asked

"I sure do" Diane said as Grace smiled

"Zoey honey, it's time for us to go home" Diane said

"OK, but can I see Grace, Rachel and Lucy again?"

"Of course you can, we will see them all the time"

They all made their way downstairs as Will and Alicia had just finished eating.

"Wow, don't you two look pretty" Alicia said, Grace had changed into Lucy's old dress so now they were in identical clothes, with matching curls.

"Thank You Mrs Gardner" Zoey replied politely

"You just call me Alicia sweetie"

"Thank You" Zoey replied before she and Diane were out of the house and in the car.

"I really liked Grace, she is nice" Zoey said in the car

"I'm glad you are getting on so well"

"Grace said I should call you Mum"

"That's you decision, if you want to call me Mum then you can, but if your not comfortable you don't have to. Why don't you think about it, no need to make a decision tonight"

"OK, she said I can call Alicia and Will, Aunt and Uncle too"

"I'm sure they would love that, but its up to you"

It wasn't long until they were home, Zoey was feeling tired, she said good night and quickly went up to her bedroom. It felt surrell at first, the bed was so big and the room so quiet, she couldn't sleep without the rhymthic sound of snoring from the girls she shared her dorm room.

Zoey got up from bed and left the room, she could see the light on in Dianes office, she gently opened the door and peaked through to see Diane sitting with her pyjamas on and a robe over it, Justice was at her feet and Diane had a briefing in front of her.

"Hi" Zoey said quietly

"Hay, I thought you were going to sleep"

"I can't sleep"

"Do you want some hot chocolate?" Diane asked

"Yes please"

They made their way downstairs to the kitchen where Diane made hot chocolate and made their way into the living room.

"Is everything OK?"

"Yes, it's just weird, I don't normally sleep in a room on my own"

"How about we put Justice in your room?" Diane suggested as they walked to the bedroom

"Yes please" Zoey said. Diane went out to find Justice and put her at the foot of Zoeys bed.

"Diane, you know how you hugged Grace, Rachel and Lucy"

"Yes, I always hug them" Diane explained

"Would you be able to hug me like that one day?"

"Of course I can, anytime you want" Diane said with a smile

"I'd like that" Zoey said as she made her way into Diane's arms. Diane held Zoey tight and gently rubbed her back. She felt Zoey relax in her arms as her breathing slowed and relaxed and she finally fell asleep. Diane pulled her cover over her sleeping body and gently kissed her forehead before turning the lights out and leaving her to sleep.

**I know that the Zach storyline seems out of character, but I wanted to show that sometimes it's the girl who is a bad influence on the boy. I have seen behaviour like that countless times at work when a boy tries to impress his girlfriend. There is actually a lot of pressure on boys to fit in which is rarely portrayed in the media.**

**Please Review, They make me happy ****J**


	44. Shopping, Laser tag and studying

"Good Morning" Diane said, she was in the Kitchen making pancakes as Zoey cam in.

"Hi" she replied quietly, she sat at the kitchen table and looked down at her hands

"What would you like on your pancakes?" Diane asked

"I don't know, we usually only have toast for breakfast, whatever you are having" she replied

"How about some jam, and if you don't like it, we can try something else"

"OK" Zoey replied.

"So, what would you like to do today?" Diane asked

"I don't know, we could just watch TV, maybe"

"If that's what you want, but we can do anything you want, we can go shopping, or see a movie, or go bowling"

"Can we go bowling please, I haven't played before"

"Sure, we can do whatever you want, have you had enough to eat?" Diane asked looking at the plate that was now empty

"Yes"

"OK, off you go get ready, and I'll see you down here as soon as your ready" Diane said as she started to clean up the breakfast dishes.

…

"Good Morning" Will said as he kissed Alicia, he was dressed casually in fitted jeans and a shirt. Alicia was equally as casual in jeans and a purple cashmere jumper.

"Morning" Alicia replied as she wrapped her arms around Wills waist

"What are the kids up to today?" Will asked

"Lucy is going out with some friends from drama club, Rachel is still grounded and should be studying, Grace has nothing planned that I know of, and well Zach was supposed to be going out, but I think we should talk to him this morning"

"OK, lets call them down for breakfast and we can talk to him later."

…..

"Diane, can Grace come bowling with us?" Zoey asked as she came downstairs wearing the same jeans from yesterday

"I thought it might be nice if it was just us, I tell you what, how about you and I go shopping and have lunch just the two of us and then maybe we can pick Grace up after Lunch and all go bowling?" Diane suggested

"Yes please" Zoey replied, they got into the car and Diane called Alicia who agreed for Grace to go bowling with Zoey and Diane.

"So, how about we go and get some new clothes" Diane suggested

"Yes please" Zoey replied feeling very lucky. They went to the mall, and got Zoey lots of new clothes, new jeans, skirts tops and even some new books.

"Thank you for all my new clothes and everything" Zoey said

"Your welcome" Diane replied as they walked into Boston Pizza "What would you like to eat?" Diane asked

"Pizza please" Zoey replied as they enjoyed lunch and got to know one another better.

"Diane, I've enjoyed my day today" Zoey said

"I have too Darling, and from now on we will have lots of these good days out"

"I don't want to leave tomorrow"

"I know, but it's only for a few days and then you will be here all the time"

"You won't change your mind, will you?"

"Zoey, I promise you, I won't change my mind, just a few days and everything will be OK"

"If I have to repeat 8th Grade does it matter if I miss the last week?" Zoey asked

"You can't miss School, you might learn something important next week. I know you finish up on Thursday, so I will come and get you on Thursday instead of Friday, then we can come home and the summer holidays can start. It will be fun."

"OK, then can Grace and I do something"

"Grace will still have school sweetie, the schools here are on for an extra week"

"Oh, but you and I can have lots of fun"

"Will you not have to work?"

"I might, I spoke to Will and Alicia about that, once Grace, Zach and the twins are off school you can spend time with them when I am at work"

"So Lucy and Rachel will be in charge?"

"Maybe some of the time, but Grace has a nanny who visits most days, so you and Grace can share her"

"Is she nice?"

"Yes, I have met her a few times, she has been looking after Grace since she was a baby, but next your first week I am going to try and work as little as I can. We could even go away somewhere for a few days"

"Like on a holiday, I've never been on a holiday before, will we fly?"

"Maybe not fly, I think we need to get you a passport first, but we could drive somewhere, Will and Alicia have a lake house, we might go there"

"OK"

…

"Grace, Auntie Diane is going to pick you up after Lunch to take you bowling" Alicia said as she walked into the Living Room, Grace, Will and Rachel were playing baseball on the Wii.

"Yes, I can't wait" Grace screamed as she went upstairs to get changed

"Rach, don't you have some studying to do?" Alicia asked

"Yes Mum" she replied before going upstairs

"Alicia, I have no one to play with now" Will grumbled as he handed a control to Alicia "Your turn"

"Noooo, I'm not good at it" Alicia giggled as Will tried to teach her how to play, he had his arms around her trying to teach her how to bat, but ended up falling onto the couch.

"You two should get a room" Lucy said in disgust a she came downstairs wearing some of Rachel's clothes and had heavier than normal make up on.

"So where are you going?" Alicia asked

"Just out"

"Out where?" Will asked "You know the rules we need to know where you're going and who you're with"

"We are going to laser tag"

"Who with?" Will asked again

"Carla, Lisa, Craig, Tony and Jenny, you have met them all at drama club" Lucy added

"OK Lucy, we trust you, so just make sure you behave and your home in time for dinner" Alicia said

"OK, but I was wondering if I could get a ride to the laser tag, its in the mall"

"All right lets go" Will said he picked up his car keys and threw them over to Lucy "You can drive on the way there"

"What, drive your BMW?" Lucy questioned, Will hadn't taken the girls out in his car, he had paid for an instructor to teach the girls.

"Yes, I must be going mad" he replied as they went out of the house to the car.

Alicia turned the Wii off and sat on the couch and picked up a briefing from the coffee table and started to read, she had just finished when she heard a voice from the door.

"Mum, I just want to say sorry about yesterday" Zach said from the doorway

"Did you wait until your Father left before you came down?" Alicia asked to silence from her son

"You're not sorry, you are just saying that because you got caught, isn't that right"

"Yes"

"Zach, I just don't understand, why you would do that, can you explain to me"

"You wouldn't understand"

"Well I may or I may not, but you're still going to explain" Alicia said to more silence from her son.

"Zach, look at me" Alicia said as her son turned his head, he did look upset, and not just upset but scared. "I want you to explain?" Alicia said again to more silence from her son as Will walked in.

"OK, if you are not going to explain you can go to your room and I don't want to see you until you are ready to explain" Alicia replied

Zach didn't respond, but just went up to his room

"So how was Lucy's driving"

"Not as bad as I thought, I took her on the bypass, she didn't like it, but she was fine, I take it your chat with Zach didn't go too well"

"No, I asked him to explain why he did it, and got nothing, hopefully a few hours in his room will get him talking"

"Maybe I should talk to him, just the two of us"

"You can try, but let him think about the consequences of his actions in his room for a while" Alicia said as she kissed Will "Why don't we go upstairs for a while" she said seductively. Will agreed and they both ran upstairs.

…

"Did you enjoy lunch?" Diane asked

"Yes, it was the best Pizza ever"

"What kind of food do you like?"

"We usually have chicken nuggets for dinner, and some days fries with them, we have pizza sometimes and fish fingers"

"What about vegetables?" Diane asked with Zoey screwing her nose up

"I don't eat vegetables or fruit"

"They are good for you, you need to eat them"

"I don't like them, so no one gives me them anymore"

"Well, I'm afraid that might have to change, no more chicken nuggets and fish fingers, we will be eating proper food" Diane said

"But what if I don't like it"

"You will, we will find healthy food that you like"

"OK, but can we have fun food sometimes"

"Sure, we will still have pizza, and takeaway food sometimes"

Diane smiled, before asking for the bill and leaving

"Is there anything else you need from the shops sweetie?" Diane asked

"No, you have already spent so much"

"OK, well lets get to the car and go get Grace."

They drove to Alicia and Wills house and parked in the driveway. Zoey wasn't as nervous as she was the day earlier; she liked Will, Alicia and the kids, especially Grace.

"Hello" Grace shouted as she answered the door and hugged Diane

"Are you ready?" Diane asked

"Uh-hu, but Mum and Dad are in there room with the door locked" Grace said screwing her face up, Diane giggled.

"Hi Auntie Diane" Rachel shouted from the dining room, Diane, Zoey and Grace walked thorough to see Rachel

"What are you studying" Diane asked

"The 7 types of Government, I can't wait till finals are over" Rachel complained

"Your hard work will pay off, darling" Diane said "How is Zach?"

"He and Mum had an argument earlier, he wouldn't tell her why he did it and she sent him to his room" Rachel said as Alicia and Will came into the room.

"Hi Zoey, have you had a good day?" Alicia asked

"Yes, Diane bought me loads of new clothes, and the Harry Potter books"

"That's great, so you two have a great day bowling, and if you want and it's OK with Diane you can come back here for dinner"

"Yes please" Grace shouted

"Girls, can you go and wait in the car, I need to have a quick work with Will and Alicia" Diane said, Grace and Zoey went into the car, and the adults left Rachel alone to study and into the living room.

"Is everything OK?" Alicia asked

"Yes, I was just wondering how you do it, being a parent"

"You just take it day by day" Will said

"Have you been having trouble?" Alicia asked

"Just a couple of things, she doesn't seem relaxed around me, but she doesn't want me to drop her back tomorrow, she wants to miss her last week of school to stay here"

"It doesn't sound that unreasonable, she is just getting used to you, and now you're taking her back again" Will said

"Not out of choice, I don't officially become her Guardian until Thursday, and I don't want to overwhelm her too soon" Diane said

"No, of course not, but the two of you are going to have to get used to one another" Alicia said "She and Grace seem to have hit it off"

"Yes, I'm so glad she has a friend, anyway I better go, take them bowling, I haven't bowled in about 20 years" Diane said laughing. "I'll leave you alone, you can go back to your room and lock the door again without disgusting your youngest daughter"

Alicia and Will blushed slightly and giggled.

**Please Review**


	45. Saturday night Dinner

**Thank you for your Reviews, Yes, Grace is still vegetarian, at least for now, the 4****th**** July party will be coming up, but not for a few weeks, and we still have a renewing of wedding vows to plan too, but some excitement before that.**

"I got you" Craig shouted as he shot Lucy, her gun now deactivated for thirty seconds.

"I'll get you back don't worry" Lucy shouted as she slid behind a pillar before keeping her eye out for Craig. The 2 of them had been flirting now for a few weeks, and yesterday Lucy had found out she had got the part of Cosette and Craig, Marius. She knew she would have to kiss him onscreen, and this made her nervous, but very excited.

Lucy seen the white stripes of Craig's trainers and rushed after him quickly shooting him "Got you" she shouted as he ran over to her and pulled her behind one of the large crates in the dark room.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked

"You're asking me" Lucy said in surprise

"Of course" Craig replied

"Yes, please" Lucy replied as Craig gently pushed her back to the crate and kissed her. Lucy returned the kiss, her hands make their way up to his blonde hair as his tangled in Lucy's long dark locks. Suddenly the lights all came on; indicating their time in laser tag had come to an end.

"Lucy, I wondering if maybe I could take you to see a Movie, Les Miserable's is in the cinema next week, I thought it might be nice to go"

"I would love that, it's just, I'll need to ask my Parents"

"OK, Well why don't you text me and let me know"

"Thank You, My Dad is just really over protective, he might want to meet you first"

"Sure, I'll meet your parents if it means I can take you out" Craig said.

"I'll ask them tonight at dinner" Lucy said "I have called my Dad, he is coming to pick me up, I better go wait at the car park for him" Lucy added as she kissed his cheek and left.

…

"These shoes are ugly" Grace said giggling as she tied her shoes up

"I know, do we have to wear them?" Zoey asked

"Unfortunately yes" Diane said a she passed her heels to the boy at the shoe desk and got hers swapped for the bowling shoes.

"So how do you bowl?" Zoey asked

"You just throw the ball down the alley and try and knock all the pins down" Grace explained.

Once they had their shoes on, Diane set their names up on the screen before they could start bowling.

"OK Grace, you first" Diane said hoping that Zoey could learn from what Grace done.

"Just do what I do" Grace said as she picked the ball up, and threw it straight into the gutter

"Maybe not like that" Diane said giggling; Grace took her second shot managing to get a few pins down.

"Diane" A voice came from the background; she turned around to find LeMond Bishop behind.

"Hello Mr Bishop" Diane said "Are you having a nice weekend?"

"I am, just brining my Son bowling, this isn't where I would expect to see you" he said

"Well yes, doing the same, bringing the kids bowling" Diane replied

"I have a few things to discuss, should I call your receptionist for an appointment"

"Of course, just give her a call and we will sort something out" Diane replied as Grace interrupted

"Auntie Diane, it's your shot" Grace shouted over

"OK Sweetie, I'll be over in a moment" Diane replied

"I'll let you go, I better get back to the game" LeMond said as he started to walk away.

"See you next week" Diane said as she went back to the game.

"So what did I miss?" Diane asked

"I got some pins down" Zoey said excitedly

"Oh, I'm sorry I missed it"

"It's OK, who was that man?" Zoey asked

"One of our clients" Diane said as she picked up a ball to take her shot.

….

"So are you ready to explain yet?" Will asked Zach after he let himself into his room.

"I don't know what you want me to say"

"The truth would be nice" Will said as he sat on Zach's desk chair "How about who you were with to start?"

"I can't tell you that"

"You can tell me and you will if you know what is good for you" Will said to more silence from Zach.

"You know you will need to tell us eventually"

"And if I don't?" Zach said boldly

"Then on your head be it" Will said as he got up to leave Zach's room. "You can stay here until your ready to talk" Will added

"Whatever" Zach replied under his breath.

Will left to go pick Lucy up from Laser Tag.

…

"How is the studying going?" Alicia asked her daughter who was still.

"Fine, I just can't wait till exams are over" Rachel said

"Yeah, I know that feeling" Alicia said as she started chopping vegetables, "Do you want to help with Dinner?"

"Not really, I might to listen to music now; I have been studying for hours"

"OK, why don't you clear your books up, Lucy should be home soon with Grace, Zoey and Auntie Diane.

…

"Did you have a good day out" Will asked as Lucy got into the drivers seat.

"Yes, although I came last, I have a rubbish aim"

"Well at least you had fun, I'm glad, now remember keep your hands at 10 and 2" Will said reminding her of her hand position as they drove home.

Lucy drove into the driveway to find Diane's car already there and the girls and Diane just getting out.

"Dad let you drive his BMW" Grace shouted loudly

"Yeah, it was great" Lucy replied

"Did you girls have a good day bowling?" Will asked

"Yeah, I won" Grace said loudly

"But only one point" Zoey said

"Well I'm sure you both did really well, Why don't you get washed up for Dinner, Mum has made Risotto"

"Diane, what is Risotto?" Zoey asked quietly

"It's lovely, it's an Italian meal that uses rice" Diane explained "Just try it and if you really don't like it we can see about getting something else later"

"OK, I'll try it"

…

"Grace can you ask your brother to come down for dinner please?" Alicia asked as everyone else was sitting ready to eat

"OK, but is my dinner got chicken in it too, because I don't eat that"

"No, it's just vegetables" Alicia replied, Grace smiled and ran upstairs to get Zach.

"How long is she going to keep this up?" Alicia asked

"I thought she would have stopped by now, she has done really well" Will replied

"Yes, but cooking 2 meal every night is hard work"

Zoey had never eaten Risotto before; she took a small forkful and placed it into her mouth. She wasn't sure of it, she had never tasted anything like it before, and the texture was strange.

"Is everything OK Zoey" Alicia asked

"Yes, I just haven't had this before"

"OK, well let me know if you don't like it, I can get you something else" Alicia replied

"No, it's OK, it's nice. And Diane says I have to try and eat healthier foods, I'm not allowed chicken nuggets, fish fingers and pizza everyday anymore"

"You don't want to eat that everyday anyway" Rachel replied "It will reek havoc with your skin"

"It will?" Zoey asked

"Yeah, will give you loads of spots if that's all you eat, trust me" Rachel said

….

"Zach, Mum says you've to come down for dinner"

"Tell Mum, I'll just stay up here"

"I don't think she will like that, are you not hungry?"

"Yes, starving, but I don't want to talk to them"

"Just come down, Auntie Diane is here and Zoey, and Mum made risotto, your favourite"

"OK, lets go" Zach said. They went downstairs to the dining room to have dinner.

"So how was laser tag?" Rachel asked her twin

"Great, it was so much fun"

"I'm glad you had a good day" Alicia replied

"Yeah, but I'll need to study loads tomorrow, first Final on Monday"

"Don't remind me and PSAT's on Thursday" Rachel replied

"Yeah, but it's the summer formal on Thursday night, I can't wait" Rachel said smiling at her sister.

"Yes, but straight home afterwards, no after party" Will reminded his daughter.

"I know, I'll be home for 10pm, have you got a dress yet Lucy"

"I don't think I will go" she replied

"Why not sweetheart, you should go enjoy yourself"

"I don't want to, but I was wondering if I could go to the movies on Saturday after my driving test"

"Who with?" Will asked

"Em, well Craig and I want to go, he is playing Marius in Les Mis with me"

"Lucy's got a boyfriend" Grace started singing followed by a giggle.

"He isn't, he is just a friend, its research" Lucy replied

"Is it just the two of you going?" Will asked

"Yes"

"Then I'm not sure, we need to think about it" Will said

"But that not fair, you let Zach go out with Sophia without thinking about it" Lucy whined

"We will think about it, but whining at us will not get us to say yes" Will admonished

"You are such a hypocrite" Lucy said quietly

"Lucy, I don't want to hear anymore about this tonight" Alicia replied

"But, it's true, it's one rule for Zach and another for us" Lucy replied as she felt her Mother and Fathers eyes narrow upon her.

"Sorry" Lucy muttered as the subject was quickly changed to the bowling game.

…..

Grace and Zoey were out by the pool on the loungers and they were soon joined by the older two girls, Zach had went straight back to his room, but not before managing to grab his laptop and take it upstairs to message Sophia.

"I'm not imagining it am I, he is being a hypocrite" Lucy complained

"Yeah, but he lets me see Mike now"

"No, you have been grounded for weeks, just wait till you want to go somewhere with him"

"Yeah well I won't be telling him" Rachel said

"I don't understand" Grace said "Would he not be better letting you date so you don't sneak around"

"You would think Grace, but Dad just doesn't want us to grow up" Lucy explained

"But why is it different for Zach"

"It's not different for Zach" Will said from the doorway.

"Oh Please" Lucy said

"Honey, I just don't want to see you upset again, I know what boys are like, I used to be one, and after what Mike done, I just don't know if you're ready for that again"

"Dad, I swear, we just want to go to a movie, and Craig is really nice, you would like him. Can I bring him home on Wednesday after rehearsal, that way you can meet him properly"

"OK, bring him to dinner, and then maybe we can see about a movie"

"Thank you Daddy" Lucy said as she hugged her Father.

"Gracie sweetie, it's time for bed" Will said

"But Zoey is still here"

"You have 10 minutes then upstairs and get ready for bed" Will said before leaving to speak to the adults.

"So, did you talk to her?" Alicia asked

"Yes, Craig is coming for dinner on Wednesday"

"Good, you know you have to let the girls grow up, and Lucy is right, you did let Zach date Sophia without meeting her"

"I know, but I was wrong then, they don't date now without us meeting their date first" Will said

"OK, I agree" Alicia said.

"At least I will have a couple of years before having to deal with dating" Diane stated

"I don't think you will have that long, Sophia is still only 13" Alicia replied

"What, so I have less than a year" Diane said worriedly

"Maybe, maybe not, I mean Lucy only just started dating a few moths ago, and well as far as I know Rachel was the same" Will replied

"She is still in middle school; they don't turn into proper teenagers until they are freshman from my experience"

"Great, so I have a year"

Will's phone started to ring; he answered it and went out to the hall.

"I need to go, Jerry Donovan's daughter, has just been arrested, I'll be home as soon as I can" Will said

"Do you need us to do anything?"

"Nah, it's just a DUI, I'll bring Cary with me" Will said

"Why don't you just leave it with Cary, and stay here"

"Because it's Jerry Donovan, he brings us thousands of dollars in" Will said, as he grabbed his car keys and laptop and left

…

"Grace, I think your 10 minutes are up?" Lucy said

"Dad has just gone out, Mum and Auntie Diane are talking and she will forget" Grace said gleefully

"Do you all have bedtimes?" Zoey asked

"Yes, during the week I need to be in bed by 10:30pm" Lucy replied. "Rachel is the same time, Zach is 10pm and Grace 9pm"

"Which is totally unfair" Grace replied

"When I was 12 I had to go to bed at 9pm as well" Rachel replied

"So did it go up half an hour every year?" Zoey questioned

"Not quiet, 9pm all through middle school, then 10pm for the first year of high school and 10:30 for sophomore and junior year, and senior year I think we can stay up as late as we want" Lucy replied

"I can't wait till senior year" Rachel said

"I've never had a bed time, or a curfew" Zoey said

"What never?" Grace replied

"Yeah, well not that I remember, I usually stay up till after midnight"

"Wow, Auntie Diane will never let you do that"

"I know, I mean I hate living it that home, but there is going to be so many rules to follow now, I have rules about the internet that I need to be told before I can use it" Zoey said

"Yeah, it will be like ours, no talking to anyone you don't know, you can't go on after 9pm" Grace said

"Those rules are important" Lucy tried to explain

"Yeah whatever" Grace said laughing

"Zoey, you would be best talking to Auntie Diane, she will tell you what the rules will be, and it will be nothing bad, I promise." Lucy said

"Are you ready to go home Zoey?" Diane asked as she came through to the garden

"Yes" she replied as she got up and walked inside.

"Grace, it's time for bed" Alicia said as she also came out"

"OK" Grace whined as she said goodbye to Zoey and went upstairs.

….

"Have you had a nice day?" Diane asked as they got into the car

"Yes, it's been really fun"

"It has, I haven't bowled in years, I forgot how much fun it was, and you were really good for your first time"

"Thanks" Zoey said as she yawned

"I think it's going to be straight to bed for you when we get in, you're exhausted"

"I'm OK, it's still early" Zoey replied

"It's after 10pm" Diane replied

"I don't usually go to bed till after midnight" Zoey replied, she wanted to test the water to see how Diane would respond

"Midnight, goodness you must be exhausted"

"Do I have to go to bed when I get in?" Zoey asked

"Yes you have to, what time do you get up at in the morning?" Diane questioned

"At the weekend just whenever, sometimes 2pm in the afternoon, and during the week I try and get up at 8am as school starts at 9am, but most days I only get to school in the afternoon"

Diane was shocked; no wonder she had been failing her exams if she missed school everyday.

"I hope you know that won't be happening anymore" Diane replied as she looked away from the road for a second to see Zoey slumping on the chair.

"I know"

"From now on bed time will be a reasonable hour"

"9pm like Grace?" Zoey questioned

"I don't know, lets just see how it goes, but you won't be staying up past midnight every night anymore"

"OK" Zoey replied sullenly

The car soon pulled into the driveway after Diane opened the gates, Zoey jumped out of the car and up to the door as quickly as she could. Diane took the shopping from the car boot, locked the car and met up with Zoey at the door; she slowly opened the door, whilst speaking to Zoey.

"Off you go get ready for bed, I'll make us some hot chocolate, you can come downstairs and drink it before bed"

"OK, I won't be long" Zoey replied as she went upstairs with Justice at her feet and got changed into her new pyjamas.

…..

"Mum, is Dad angry with me?" Lucy asked

"Of course not, you know he is just very protective of you girls"

"But, he is being unfair"

"Honey, I will talk to Dad, bring Craig to dinner on Wednesday and I'm sure everything will be OK"

"And Dad won't give him a hard time"

"I will talk to him, now you get off to bed and in the morning I will talk to your father"

"Thanks Mum, Good night" Lucy said as she hugged her mother and went upstairs to Rachel's room.

"So tell me the truth about Craig, is he really just your friend"

"We made out at laser tag"

"And?"

"And what, we had a kiss, and he asked me out, that's it"

"Is he cute? How old is he? Was he a good kisser?"

"Yes, 17 and amazing" Lucy answered her sisters 3 questions

"I'm so happy for you" Rachel said hugging her sister

….

"Thank you for my hot chocolate" Zoey said as she sat down on the sofa next to Diane.

"Your welcome honey"

"What are we going to do tomorrow?" Zoey asked

"What would you like to do; we will need to leave around 4pm to take you back to St Louis"

"Do I need to, please can't I stay here"

"I wish you could, but I'm not your legal Guardian until Thursday, This weekend was just like a little trial to make sure that you like me"

"And that you like me, too" Zoey stated

"Well yes, but I promise that I will be there for you as soon as school finishes on Thursday"

Zoey didn't say anything, Diane thought she looked worried, she eyes were down and a serious look on her face.

"Zoey, are you worried?" Diane asked

"A little, what if I'm not what you expected, what if you change your mind later"

"Oh Sweetheart, come here for a hug" Diane said as she opened her arms for Zoey to slide in for a cuddle. "I promise, I won't ever change my mind, from now on we are a family"

"But Alicia and Will are angry with Zach and Lucy was angry with them today, what if that happens to us"

"I'm sure that sometimes we might fall out, but it doesn't mean that we don't love each other. Lucy loves her parents more than anything, but sometimes they argue, it's perfectly normal"

"I don't want to argue"

"No, neither do I, but I don't doubt that we will have disagreements, wouldn't it be strange if we got on all of the time"

"I suppose"

"But, no matter what everything I do will be in your best interest"

"I just feel like I want to be here, but I don't deserve to be here"

"This is your home now darling, you are right where you belong, Right here with me" Diane said as she held Zoey tighter before stroking her hair and tucking a loose strand behind her ear.

"Thank you" Zoey whispered

"Now, why don't you go up to bed, I'll come and tuck you in and will put Justice in your room again"

"Good night" Zoey said as she went upstairs, Justice followed her and lay at the foot of the bed. It was only a few moments later when Diane came in. She walked over to the window and closed it over.

"Good night sweetheart and I will see you in the morning" Diane replied.

…

"What do you think you are doing" Alicia said as she walked into Zach's room to find him on his laptop.

"I was just doing homework"

"If you need to do homework, you ask me and you do it downstairs where I can see you" Alicia said as she closed his laptop. "And facebook is not homework"


End file.
